Catch shares implementation in the artisanal shrimp fishery of Sinaloa, Mexico

In September 2009 a catch shares system was implemented for the first time in a Mexican artisanal shrimp fishery. The Sinaloa shrimp fishery represents 35% of wild-caught shrimp produced in Mexico, and is the most important fisheries export of the country. To guarantee sustainability, reduce conflict and promote resource stewardship, the catch shares system was designed in conjunction with a regional fisheries management program for the artisanal fleets of Sinaloa and Agiabampo, Sonora, which includes over 10,000 fishermen operating ∼6,000 skiffs, and representing ∼40% of the annual shrimp landings. For the 2009-2010 season the program had: registered legal fishermen and skiffs, calculated the blue shrimp (Litopenaeus stylirostris) Total Allowable Catch (TAC), built knowledge within fishermen organizations regarding catch shares, allocated a percentage of the TAC to each cooperative, and hired a third-party monitoring firm to track landings by skiff. In spite of a long history of management challenges, social and political risks, a sound basis for catch shares operation was established. This presents the first steps towards an incentive – based fisheries management system implemented in a complex small-scale fishery, and has been the result of unprecedented collaboration between artisanal fishermen, local and international organizations, and state and federal governments.