International Waters learning Exchange & Resource Network

Roundtable towards a legislative framework to address ghost fishing gear in Mexico

10 Mar 2024 | by m-duque@unesco.org
Ghost gear is any fishing gear that is abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded and is widespread marine pollution. Although any marine debris is detrimental to international waters, ghost gear is considered the most harmful type and is being increasingly tackled by governments worldwide. The impacts of ghost gear are profound. Concerning commercially important fisheries, harvest species like fish, crabs, and lobsters can get caught in lost or abandoned traps. This affects global food security and causes significant economic losses for local and national communities. Larger fauna like sea turtles, sharks, marine mammals, and birds also get entangled in fishing lines or nets, impeding their ability to hunt or swim. Furthermore, marine habitats such as coral reefs, seagrass, and mangroves can be smothered by dense masses of ghost gear.

On February 21, 2024, ICCF Mexico hosted a roundtable with the Ocean Conservancy and the Senate of the Republic to address ghost gear in Mexico's oceans. Senator Alejandra Lagunes Soto, Chair of the Roundtable, and Senator Raúl Bolaños-Cacho Cué, President of the Commission on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, led the discussion with Executive Branch agencies, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector.

 Senator Alejandra Lagunes Soto and Senator Raúl Bolaños-Cacho Cué Leading the Ghost Gears Roundtable. Photo: Mexico Senate Communications

Representatives from different agencies participated in person and virtually, providing technical input and opinions. Among the federal government institutions represented were the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the Federal Attorney's Office for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), and the Mexican Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (IMIPAS). The number of contributions and diversity of participating institutions emphasize the issue’s importance and allow for more certainty when implementing actions and policies to address abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear.

The event also had the participation of around 20 experts from civil society, academia, and the private sector, which provided valuable inputs for strengthening Senator Lagunes' bill and identifying additional proposals to be included in subsequent legislative processes. At the end of the briefing session, Senator Lagunes and Senator Bolaños committed themselves –together with the technical team of the Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change Committee– to integrating all these comments into the bill's opinion and generating consensus with the other Parliamentary Groups so that it may be voted in Plenary before April 30, 2023 (the end of the period of sessions).

Senate roundtable with government agencies, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector. Photo: Mexico Senate Communications

Words by Katherine Brantley and Eleonora Aranda

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