The new shrimp farming venture should reduce the human pressure on the marine porpoise. (Photo: L. Eustaquio)

Fishers invest USD 1.7 mln in shrimp farm

MEXICO
Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 16:10 (GMT + 9)

Fishers from California Upper Gulf will launch a shrimp farming project backed by an investment of MXN 25 million (USD 1.7 million).

Through the initiative, the group hopes to develop a profitable activity that will reduce net fishing and bolster the marine porpoise rescue plan.

The project will involve the shrimp farming of 560 hectares of coastal territory, the president of the Fishermen’s Reserve Cooperative Federation, Carlos Tirado Pineda, indicated.

Once the project is in full swing, more fishers may join the farming project, which will allow nets to be withdrawn from the California Upper Gulf and so contribute to ongoing conservation efforts for the marine porpoise, a small marsupial in danger of extinction.

At present, the fishing nets used by the Biosphere Reserve of the California Upper Gulf are the main cause of mortality of this cetacean, which is one of the nine most endangered species listed by the WWF.

The farming project is backed by the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (CONAPESCA).

The shrimp breeding tanks are built on the site previously occupied by US firm Maritech in the 1990s, said Tirado Pineda, Notimex reports.

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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