Illegal fishing on the coast of Dzilam de Bravo has become one of the main concerns for fishermen and residents: according to testimonies, illegal activity is booming, which has begun to cause serious damage to the marine ecosystem of the region.
During a tour of the coast, the presence of illegal Sanconchaderos was confirmed, these are places where sea cucumbers are processed for sale, which seriously affects this species.
Local fishermen point out that sea cucumbers, previously abundant in the area, are now found in smaller numbers due to these illegal practices, and some specimens are found dead or dried out, due to the extraction methods used.
“Before, you could find sea cucumbers no more than one kilometer from the coast, and you could see them everywhere. But nowadays they are no longer common. As they have been depredated, you have to go to deeper areas to be able to see them,” said a local fisherman who requested to remain anonymous.
Members of the Dzilam Fishermen’s Surveillance Committee say that having to go deep to fish for this species is becoming more complicated since submerging translates into greater risks for fishermen, and deaths of “divers” have been reported.
“Currently, you have to go to the East, next to San Felipe, and to the West, next to Santa Clara, to be able to find it, when they used to be all over the place.”
In the Sanconchaderos located on the coast, there are piles of garbage from poachers: plastic bottles, food remains, cauldrons, and concrete blocks. “Another problem is the contamination left by poachers is damaging the mangroves too. You can see that, these people don’t care about the environment at all.”
As part of the actions to minimize the impact in the area, members of this committee monitor the areas where the Sanconchaderos are being established. They clean and document the presence of predators. However, the amount of trash is so large that it is impossible to remove it all.
“The problem is that there are people who buy these specimens. If there were no buyers, it would make no sense to capture them,” one of the fishermen said.
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