Fisher exchange in Baja, sponsored by Niparaja

Two members of the Chamela Fishing Cooperative were invited to the meeting of "de pescador a pescador” that took place May 4-7 in the city of La Paz and was organized and sponsored by the organization Niparaja.

With the support of Niparaja organization, Sierra a Mar, and Legacyworks group, Armando Calderón accompanied Eloy Fernando Cárdenas Ríos and his wife Celia Becerra Ramírez, who are fishermen, were able to attend the meeting. This event gathers fishermen and fisherwomen from all coastlines of the country, and for several days they share their experiences related to fishing, not only on fishing gear and catches, but also on topics related to the care and management of fishery resources, their processing, transformation and commercialization.

On this occasion, among the topics discussed at the event were fishing refuges as a tool for fisheries management. This was the main reason Eloy and Celia attended, since the cooperative of which they are members is currently developing a proposal to establish an area with fisheries management in their fishing zone. Participation in this exchange of experience will help them understand more about the process of establishing a fisheries management instrument or tool (fishing refuge, inter-cooperative management agreements) and broaden their vision of the possibilities to improve as fishermen and as an organization.

On May 8 and 9, people from the Boca de Álamo fishing cooperative shared with Celia and Eloy their experience in the establishment of their fishing refuge, touching on key issues such as the socialization of the proposal, the dimensions of the polygon, proposed fishery management measures and surveillance. 

The experience of visiting the community of Boca de Alamo, where the fishermen's cooperative in that community is at an advanced stage in establishing a fishery refuge zone, and where some fishery management measures are already being applied and are beginning to bear fruit (exclusive hook fishing) was an extremely valuable part of this trip. It generated a dialogue between fishermen who live in different states but with similar intentions in the management of their fishery resources.

A few weeks after the event, Eloy shared with the members of the cooperative that the aspect he considers most critical in the management of a potential refugio in Chamela would be the surveillance of the protected area. He also commented that in the community of Boca de Álamo fishing is more abundant than in Chamela, with catches of up to 100 kg of prime fish (lunarejo, huachinango, snappers) per day using only a hand line.