Noah’s latest post from Global Food Politics (a fantastic blog, by the way, go check it out!) resonated so strongly with me that I wanted to share the story of Mexican fishermen in the Sea of Cortez here as well.
The Sea of Cortez (or Gulf of California) has been, as many once-upon-a-time rich fishing grounds, overfished to the point of near-extinction of some species. Accelerating this change may have been a new law that entered into force in 2007, NOM-029, which allows commercial longlining in coastal waters of the Sea of Cortez. This was deemed a ‘conservation catastrophe’ by many environmentalists, as well as threatening the livelihoods of the traditional fishermen in the region. Listen to one fisherman tell the story of why he loves to do what he does, and what he fears the options of the next generation will be.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/61661665]
P.S. This article points to the possibility of sustainable fish farms replacing the wild fisheries, but there are a myriad of problems attached to those as well – additionally, would fish farms really replace the type of traditional livelihood described in the video? Or are these just doomed to extinction along with the fisheries they live from?
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