The Mexican Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRICULTURA) plans to expand the number of fishing refuge zones (ZRP) across nine coastal states, with a goal of protecting 2.2 million marine hectares by 2026.
The Mexican government has already established 28 ZPRs in the country, spanning the four coastal states of Baja California Sur, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo. However, the National Commission for Aquaculture and Fisheries (CONAPESCA) plans to roughly triple that number to 83 by 2026, protecting more than 130 key species for the nation’s food sovereignty. Under that plan, ZRPs will be established for the first time in the states of Tamaulipas, Nayarit, Colima, Oaxaca, and Campeche.
“The new ZRPs are developed through the active participation of fishing communities, which seek to restore fisheries, protect their environment, improve their economy, and contribute to the country's food sovereignty,” CONAPESCA said in a press release.
The expansion is part of the government's commitment to Goal 14 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which emphasizes ocean and marine resource sustainability.
In a social media post, Cámara Nacional de las Industrias Pesquera y Acuícola (Canainpesca) criticized ...
