The Mexican government claims it seized more than 1,500 tons of fishery products in its efforts to combat illegal fishing over the course of 2024.
Conapesca, a Mexican federal agency that manages the nation’s fisheries, partnered with the Mexican Navy, SEMAR, to conduct 14,572 land patrols and 2,810 maritime patrols over the course of the year. In total, the government confiscated more than 11,240 pieces of fishing gear, 298 vehicles, 4 large vessels, and 185 small vessels as part of those enforcement activities.
The agency said it plans on increasing enforcement activities in 2025.
“Conapesca, in collaboration with SEMAR, is prepared to strengthen inspection and surveillance activities in 2025 and, thereby, guarantee the sustainability of aquaculture and fishing,” Conapesca said in a statement. “With these actions, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reiterates its commitment to the fishing sector to carry out permanent work to promote the sector.”
Conapesca’s statement comes amid heightened criticism of the Mexican government’s efforts to combat illegal fishing efforts.
In July 2024, Minerva Pérez Castro, the president of the Cámara Nacional de las Industrias Pesquera y Acuícola (Canainpesca), was assassinated in Ensenada, Mexico, shortly after publicly criticizing illegal fishing operations in the country.
In the wake of the killing, Mexico Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) Julio Berdegué Sacristán vowed to eradicate illegal fishing in Mexico.
“I am committed to working tirelessly to ensure this does not go unpunished,” Berdegué Sacristán said in a statement.
In December, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned five Mexican individuals accused of ties to illegal red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.
