Mérida, Yucatán, (June 16, 2021).- Due to the cyclonic development in the Gulf of Mexico, the Harbor Master announced the beginning of the ban on shark fishing.
On Tuesday, June 15th, the ban on shark fishing was opened, however, given the two areas of low pressure with a probability of cyclonic development in the Gulf of Mexico, the Harbor Master announced that navigation would go into preventive alert.
Roger Gómez Ortegón, head of the Directorate of Fisheries, established that the news about the permit in shark and lobster fishing injected hope to a Progreseño fishing sector that continues without positive numbers in terms of catch.
Good expectatives
“Both species have had a low impact on the catch in recent years, to which I add that we have gone through several meteorological phenomena this year but in both, there is expectation, more on the part of the lobster due to its high demand,” he said.
Part of the numbers given by the agency under his charge was that, in 2020, the preliminary production was more than 31 thousand tons of shark, as for the stingray, there was an index of 9 thousand tons.
Similarly, the official assured that products such as dogfish are purchased by Progreso families due to their high level of protein and low cost, which is found in the market with prices between 70 and 100 pesos a kilo.
For its part, the Ministry of Rural Development indicated that for the capture of the species, which begins on Wednesday, July 1st, 1,500 fishermen participate in 630 boats with fishing permits that, through diving and traps, intend to reach the minimum catch target, which this year is 650 tons, a figure that was obtained in the 2019-2020 season.
As for lobster catch, it is highly demanded in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, the majority to be exported to the main tourist sites, even to European countries.
This species provides benefits, such as high levels of calcium, potassium, zinc, selenium, and vitamin E, which activate antioxidant cells and are also a low-calorie food.
Regarding the changes due to the coronavirus pandemic that has reduced several commercial sectors, Roger Ortegón declares that fishing does not suffer any restriction because it is considered a primary livelihood activity, but anyways, fishermen are asked to please take precautions during working hours.
“The important thing is to work together to avoid more infections. On each trip, the fisherman is always exhorted not to forget preventive care to avoid contagion by COVID-19 ”, concluded the Director of Fisheries.
Low pressure preventive alert
Added to the words of the Director of Fisheries is the announcement of the Harbor Master’s Office on Tuesday, June 15th, when it reported that, starting today at 6:00 p.m., navigation would go into preventive alert.
This because two areas of low pressure with probability for cyclonic development will continue. The first in the Pacific Ocean and the other in the Southwest of the Gulf of Mexico. Both systems cause a strong contribution of humidity to the national territory in combination with a low-pressure channel extended to the Sierra Madre Occidental.
The agency in charge of Captain Bernardo Crespo Silva thus prevents all vessels that are sailing in the aforementioned regions to take precautions in order to create conditions that allow life to be preserved at sea.
The agency remarked that navigation for smaller boats (and recreational) remains closed.
