Fishermen in the south of the country propose a self-ban Sinaloa until when?

MAZATLÁN.- The fishermen of the south of Sinaloa They expressed their disagreement with the opening date of the shrimp season in estuaries and lagoons due to the low volumes and sizes of the crustacean. Some are considering imposing a self-ban until October 2 to preserve the species and wait for more favorable conditions.

Gilberto Palafox Uzeta, president of the Federation of Cooperatives of Laguna El Caimanero, indicated that the National Commission for Aquaculture and Fisheries (Conapesca) established the official start of the season for lagoon and estuarine systems as of midnight on September 25.

However, local fishermen consider this time to be inappropriate given the current shrimp conditions.

“Currently, the shrimp available is only 4 grams, and no southern federation was consulted in making this decision. We are really unhappy, and we cannot allow the ban to be lifted on the 25th of this month, because that would be considerably detrimental to us,” he explained.

Palafox Uzeta added that the problem could be due to the construction of the Santa María dam, which has blocked the arrival of fresh water to the estuaries, negatively affecting the shrimp habitat. This situation is not new, since last year a decrease in catches was also observed for the same reason.

For his part, Jorge García Santos, president of the Federation of Cooperatives of Southern Sinaloacommented that in Escuinapa there are hardly any shrimp in areas such as Palmillas and La Concha, and that in other sectors of the municipality and in the fishing fields of El Rosario, the lack of fresh water has significantly reduced the populations of the crustacean.

“We do not want to impose a self-imposed ban; we would prefer to see the agreement modified by the end of September or beginning of October,” said García Santos.

Faced with this situation, fishermen are considering delaying the start of the fishing season on their own to protect their resources and wait for more favourable conditions for fishing.

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