Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Billfish and Gamefish
Buying, Selling Billfish and Gamefish
I have the current PESCA law book (15th Edition – 2000) and it shows the 1st Edition was published in 1972. That said, I don’t know the exact date
the law as respects the capture and sale of billfish or gamefish was signed into law but it is illegal to sell billfish and gamefish captured in
Mexican waters.
A year or so ago I mentioned something about it in a personal Email to a neighbor – he sent my private words to Spa Buena Vista resort and the owners
gave me hell for saying anything that would discourage fishermen from coming down here to East Cape to the 6 fishing resorts in the area. The rules of
the game for sportfishing mags and Ecolumns, Ezines, etc. are clear: fishing is ALWAYS WIDE OPEN FOR EVERYTHING AT _____________________ so come on
down.
Enter the El Niño of 2015-16, the strongest in history. This strange and powerful weather system has affected millions of people all over the globe in
uncountable ways. Here’s part of what it did down here with unexpected consequences in a lot of quarters.
In Palmas Bay:
Some food fish almost never seen here came for the new bait, the warmer water.
Some other seasonal food fish left the area and have not returned.
Some fish usually found in 30 feet of water now live in 200 feet of water.
Some days commercial bottom fishermen can’t find any worthwhile fish to catch at all.
Dorado could not find favorable conditions so they migrated thousands of miles to find food in the Pacific and were not an important part of the
sportfishing catch these two seasons.
Marlin (Striped, Blue, Black and White) came (close to shore – I can watch them being caught from my window) and stayed in unprecedented numbers and
are still here.
There were countless other short term anomalies and many more to come.
Our local fishermen reacted to each change – they had to feed their families so any half calm day here will find all the boats rushing through the
waves to get to the seamount where the marlin are ganged up so they can catch as many as possible, run back ashore, clean them, then head for the fish
buyers and some local restaurants to sell then for about 100 pesos a kilo or more.
A couple weeks ago PESCA found out about the wanton disregard for the law and they began to check fish sellers and restaurants for violations.
I have it on good authority that in La Paz just as the heat went on, it went back off. Even the public fish markets advertise and sell marlin and
dorado in the open --- seems local authority is looking the other way and when approached about that, the answer was that since the El Niño warm
waters killed the lobster season altogether, the fishermen and the restaurateurs need a break during these unusual and very tough times.
I’m just the reporter, the messenger, and I’ve lived here a long time – these fishermen, the fish buyers, are my friends and neighbors so it’s not for
me to judge them or their actions. It is what it is.
Maybe time for me to make up to the resort owners; tell them Jorge said at ¬¬¬¬¬Palmas Bay the marlin bite is wide open, so you would-be anglers with
money to spend, “Come on down” but be quick about it because El Niño moves in mysterious ways and everything could change on a dime.
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chippy
Super Nomad
Posts: 1722
Registered: 2-2-2010
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and the beat goes on.
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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Over here on the Pacific side, the fishing co-op has been commercially fishing for dorado and marlin for years. Their preferred method for marlin is
to put out large buoys with live or dead baited hooks, then go bottom fish near by, when a marlin takes the bait they are unable to swim down because
of the buoy, making it easy for the pangeros to cruise up and harpoon the fish. I don't often see marlin on restaurant menus here, so I'm not sure
where their market for them is, but when they are in season, one can find dorado at pretty much every restaurant, fish market, and taco stand.
Apparently there is little enforcement of regulations when it comes to commercial fishing, but the last time I went fishing, I had a guy from PROFEPA
threaten to give me a multa if I threw a fish carcass back into the ocean after filleting it.
[Edited on 1-23-2016 by monoloco]
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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Cappy
Nomad
Posts: 146
Registered: 6-4-2012
Location: Rancho Aguja
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IGFA, Billfish foundation, take Marlin off the menu. The truth is they do what they do
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windgrrl
Super Nomad
Posts: 1335
Registered: 9-2-2006
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...or a change of venture? Lots of whales in Palmas Bay this year. Two pods this morning and one just breached 32 times consecutively. Lots of
turtles, sharks and varieties of jelly fish. Very few dolphins or flying mobulas compared to past 15 years. May be some species just need a break to
catch up?
When the way comes to an end, then change. Having changed, you pass through.
~ I-Ching
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Mono, thanks for that.
Cappy, Windgirl, I'm old, not into texting.
Cappy, What does that mean "IGFA, Billfish foundation, take marlin off the menu"?
Windgirl, Change of venue? For whom, what, to where? You saw a whale jump consecutively? Wow. Is there some other way?
Help me out here. Just a few more keystrokes this time. For clarity.
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