The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission fixed December 1st as the start date for the yellowfin tuna fishing ban. Normally this concerns all the vessels that fish in the Tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean, however this year the IATTC reduced the site where this capture does not have to take place.
During the meeting, which recently took place in La Jolla California, VÃctor Ibáñez Esquer, manager of the Mexican Fishery Chamber, said that the IATTC recommended to forbid tuna fishing with purse seiners, however did not establish a quota like in previous years.
The recommended ban is for purse seiners, which target yellowfin and skipjack. The prohibition begins on December 1st as of 00.00 hours and finishes December 31st at 24.00 hours, 2003. From the moment the ban has commenced, and during the ban, all purse seiners have to remain in port, with the exception of those that have an observer on board or those that have initiated their trip before the ban has started.
So far this year, the Mexican tuna fleet has during this season obtained more captures than at this same time in 2002, the Mexican tuna fleet has caught 127,386 tons. This represents an increase this year of 21,074 tons compared to the 106,112 tons caught up to the same period in 2002.
This abundance of tuna in the Pacific currently allows all tuna processing plants of Manzanillo, Mazatlán, San Carlos, La Paz, Port Madero and Ensenada to have their coldstorages filled to the maximum level. This good supply of yellowfin tuna in the Pacific will guarantee supply to the Mexican national canned tuna market, which demands around 110,000 tons per year.
Another part of the Mexican tuna is exported to the East and to the European Union, providing benefits to the sector, since at the same time tuna prices have remained between USD 950 and 1,200 per ton.
So far this year the vessels Maria Luisa, Maria Fernanda, Maria Verónica and Nair II have obtained the highest catch results and have captured between 4,000 and 6,000 tons each.
Mexican tuna boatowners have been working with a few international tuna trading companies now for several years. The Mexican fleet is exporting its tuna to the European Union on reefer carrier boats through these companies.