Illegal grouper fishing continues in Yucatan territorial waters

Fishermen denounce that the species is not being allowed to rest and there is a risk of scarcity and even disappearance of the product. Illegal grouper fishing is a reality in all the ports of Yucatán, and the fishermen say the authorities are doing nothing to stop these criminals who continue to depredate the species.

The complainants, who have requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, have pointed out that along the coasts the illegal capture of the species has become a common practice, due to the strong demand for the product generated by the business sector, which buys illegally.

This situation is sad and hopeless for most of them, so representatives of cooperatives, such as Carlos Cano, point out that as long as these predatory practices continue, the hours of the sector, in general, are numbered, since the damage they have observed in practice, on the volume of specimens of this species of fish, is very strong, so that in a few years the grouper could become scarce and would reach the point of disappearing from the region, which would generate serious problems for the main economic engine of the area.

The fishermen pointed to several cooperatives, warehouses, freezers, and processors of Progreso and the main Yucatecan ports, as the architects of poaching, because they generate black market consumption conditions, so that this fishery continues to be exploited, because when they see a place to accommodate their product they do not let this variety rest and continue buying the product from poachers, even though it is out os season.

TYT Newsroom