In Mexico, fishing communities have seen success with temporary marine reserves in the last several decades. Here, temporary marine reserves are a new strategy, with 46 reserves being established since 2012. Some have expanded, and in other cases, the local fishers have decided to modify them or reopen reserves to fishing. We're partnering with a non-profit in Mexico to unpack the dynamics of success, failure, and iterative decision-making.

 

Zonas de Refugio Pesquero

A Zona de Refugio Pesquero is a federally recognized marine reserve that prohibits fishing activity — often for five years. Wherever a refugio emerges, the local community co-manages the area in partnership with the Mexican government. After the designated period, fishers decide what happens next. They may decide to move, expand, or end the Refugio protection in their fishing grounds. TEMPO studies how species recover under these regimes and if and when fishers deem them success stories.

  • The number of refugios has grown from 0-46 since 2012 (29 are currently active).
  • Many communities have exclusive rights to the fishing grounds surrounding a refugio.
  • Refugios' target species range from abalone and lobster (Baja California) to tropical finish (Quintana Roo).

COBI's Ongoing Work

COBI (Communidad y Biodiversidad) is a Mexican NGO that promotes marine conservation and sustainable fisheries management. COBI is TEMPO's community partner in Mexico. Stuart, our lead collaborator in Mexico, is based in Quintana Roo; COBI conducts ecological monitoring and capacity building with fishing communities throughout the country. COBI's team has become experts in Refugio design, ecology, and social perceptions of these fishery systems.

  • COBI works with 19 refugios on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
  • Lead underwater monitoring to track species data over time and train local divers to monitor their fishing grounds.
  • Work to improve gender equity throughout Mexico's small-scale fishing sector.

Isla Natividad

A 6-kilometer boat ride separates the island from Baja California Sur. Isla Natividad has no fresh water source and hardly any trees. Residents depend on fishing more than any other livelihood. So, in the 1940s, the community organized a grassroots approach to fishery management. First, the families of the island formed their own fishing cooperative. Locals decided on voluntary fishing rules, elected a leadership council, and closed off a section of their fishing grounds as a temporary reserve.  Fishers wanted to conserve the entire kelp ecosystem — and help target fisheries (like spiny lobster and abalone) recover their stocks.
They established a marine reserve in 2006. Fishers believed that the approach was working, then saw a huge die-off of abalone and started to collaborate with scientists to understand why. In 2010, Stanford scientists deployed oceanographic sensors to monitor oceanographic conditions to visualize ocean shifts they couldn’t see themselves. In 2018, they legitimized this informal protected area into a formal Zona De Refugio Pesquero.  México's fishery service co-managed the Refugio in partnership with the fishing cooperative for five years.
Now, we’re about to see the Refugio’s impact on the fishery. Isla Natividad is set to reopen part of the reserve area. Oceanographic data showed that there may be another die-off this winter, so they decided to make the marine reserve accessible and modify the reserves management regime.
Refugios don't guarantee successful and sustainable fisheries, and “success” means different things to different groups of people, even in the same fishery. Our research surveys all 46 refugios in Mexico to document changes in ecology, decision-making processes, and how/when fishers construct the idea of “success.”