Cancun, Q.R. — The government of Mexico has set a limit for both food and sport fishing for the 2019 season.
According to the publication in the Diario Oficial de la Federación, a maximum of 70 tons of Blue Marlin will be permitted for 2019, a figure set to include both fishermen and sport fishing. The publication also says that a limit of 25 tons has been set for White Marlin and that all live-caught billfish must be returned to the sea.
Those sport fishing this year will be required to put fish back into the sea that measure under 251 cms. According to the National Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture the capture of blue marlin, white marlin and other related species represents approximately 14 percent of the total catch made by the tuna fleet with longline in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
The government stresses that anyone caught not abiding by the laws as set out in the Diario Oficial de la Federación will be subject to penalties under the Ley General de Pesca y Acuacultura Sustentables.
They remind people that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries, has the power to administer and regulate the use, as well as promote the sustainable use of the resources of the aquatic flora and fauna, ordering the activities of the people involved and establishing the conditions in which fishing operations must be carried out.
They add that they will be in charge of monitoring boats and activities in both the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico noting that the establishment of catch volumes for the different species is a tool for fisheries management that contributes to the development of responsible fishing.
