Roundtable towards a legislative framework to address ghost fishing gear in Mexico
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.
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).
Words by Katherine Brantley and Eleonora Aranda
Related Press releases:
- Mexico Senate Youtube Video: Mesa de análisis “Hacia un marco legislativo para abordar las artes de pesca fantasma en México” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Imql4Lypc
- https://comunicacionsocial.senado.gob.mx/informacion/comunicados/8236-bolanos-cacho-promueve-reforma-para-evitar-que-desechos-de-artes-de-pesca-afecten-vida-marina
- https://comunicacionsocial.senado.gob.mx/informacion/comunicados/8227-impulsan-iniciativa-para-prevenir-residuos-en-mares-generados-por-artes-de-pesca
- https://www.capitalmexico.com.mx/nacional/senador-del-partido-verde-promueve-reforma-para-evitar-que-desechos-de-artes-de-pesca-afecten-vida-marina/