it has been Two hours since the diver left the shore. When they reached the designated GPS point in the Gulf of Mexico, their ship's engines ranged from roaring to whispering. In pairs, they entered Mexico's largest fishing shelter belt. Their ritual is absolutely: put on the fins, adjust the vest and hose, a clean sun visor, and load the oxygen tank and weight. In the next few minutes, their lives depend on carefully preparing the place of hope for this.
Here they seek to restore fisheries on the brink of decline or collapse. The shelter is a non-marching area, established in 2019, covering 324 square kilometers and monitored by the Yucatan Coast Coast Submarine Monitoring Community Team, a community diver and fishermen group supported by the Personnel Research Institute of the Sustainable Fisheries and Citizens Association of Mexico’s Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (IMIPAS). Their methodology combines local knowledge with science strictly.
The problem they face is a global: overfishing and environmental degradation are destroying the biodiversity of the oceans, and many countries lack the will or resources to solve the problem. In 2024, as sea surface temperatures destroy historical records, Global Fund for Nature Planet of Life The report shows that the size of the global marine population has dropped by 56% over the past 50 years. More than one-third of the marine population is overfished.
In Mexico, more than 700 marine species are caught in 83 fisheries that support 200,000 Mexican households. IMIPAS' analysis of Mexico's national fishing charter shows that 17% of the country's fisheries deteriorate, 62% are exploited at its maximum sustainability level, while 15% have no information about its state. When conservation nonprofits analyzed the same data, it found that 34% of Mexico's fishery was in “poor condition”, said Esteban García Peña, coordinator for Oceana's research and public policy.
Part of the problem is that under Mexican law, no one is obliged to take care of the health of the country's fisheries. Mexico's general fishery law does not obligate the government to assume this responsibility. Oceania has petitioned to change that, facing interest in legislation, and even filed a ban on the Alliance Congress in 2021 accusing human rights violations such as access to a healthy environment and food. This inspired a proposal to revive Mexico’s deteriorating fishing zones, just to avoid congressional analysis or approval, the project was frozen.
Faced with this uncertainty, the community takes things into its own hands. Although the government has no obligation to protect and restore the country's fisheries, one can ask it to establish refuge so as to protect and reoccupy the marine ecosystem. So today, there are shelters in Baja California Sur, Quintana Roo and Campeche, California, totaling over 2 million hectares, benefiting directly or indirectly from 130 species.
“It seemed crazy when the first proposal was put forward,” said Alicia Poot, an IMIPAS researcher and head of the Yucalpetén Regional Aquaculture and Fisheries Research Center. “Some people think it is closing the sea, but it is not. It is running a community oversight in a sustainable way.”
Limitation of abundance
The day before the surveillance began, the Celestún team gathered under a large Palapa. Cobi's scientific diving expert Jacobo Caamal reviewed the program in the next few days. He jokingly provided practical advice, using coconut to show how to measure sea cucumbers and sea snails.
They talk about sea cucumber because although it is not part of Mexican cuisine, its fishing brings a lot of profit. In the Chinese market, these creatures can earn more than $150 per plate. Hype for echinoderms has driven practices that are harmful to ecosystems and fishermen's health SmokeThis is a temporary submersible that runs on gasoline and pumps oxygen downward towards divers below the ground. Sanitary towels sometimes stand like oil filters, while mint sheets are meant to reduce the taste of the gas. In Celestún, no one denies the risk of diving this machine. Many people know someone who is in an accident or dies from decompression.
Until 2012, the region was filled with cucumbers, but violations of its closed season put the species on the verge of extinction. Divers began to hunt them deeper and deeper. The situation became untenable. A group of fishermen then sought help from IMIPAS researchers to build an area that might have a chance to recover.
