Fishermen from Isla Mujeres and Cancún denounced that Cuban vessels are carrying out maneuvers to illegally fish species under the protection of Mexican national coastal laws.
At 7 o’clock in the morning, on Tuesday July 17, more than ten boats of fishermen from Isla Mujeres and Cancun sailed for a demonstration 12 miles east off the coast of Quintana Roo.
Baltazar Gómez Catzín, president of the Fishermen’s Cooperative of Isla Mujeres (Cooperativa Pesquera de Isla Mujeres), said the protest, which was held peacefully, was aimed at asking the authorities to put an end to illegal fishing.
Quintana Roo’s fishermen protesting against illegal fishing activity by Cubans. (Photo: yucatan.com.mx)
The main cause, he explained, is the abuse carried out by fishing vessels from the island of Cuba, which without permission reach Mexican littorals to fish the species known as “bonito“, which they use for their consumption, and commercialize canned as if it were tuna .
The leader of the seamen declared: “Locals fish approximately 20 to 30 kilos of that species to use as bait, but the Cuban boats that invade Mexican territorial waters fish between 15 and 17 tons, in a period of 15 days, and they are obviously overexploiting the fish population in a country that is not theirs. ”
“The Cubans come to Mexican territory to capture this species, that is banned in their country’s protected natural areas,” Gómez Catzín continued.
Finally, he pointed out that if a Mexican ship goes to capture lobster in Cuban territory, the authorities of that country immediately take action; so the fishermen of Quintana Roo expect that Mexican authorities take the corresponding actions against these foreign fishermen, because this situation is affecting the local economy, the wildlife and the national sovereignty.
TYT Newsroom with information from yucatan.com.mx
