At MARES Comunidad, we have partnered with artisanal fisheries to tackle the issue of sea turtle bycatch in Mexico. Our collaborative efforts with fishers and their communities have led to innovative solutions safeguarding North Pacific loggerheads (Caretta caretta), East Pacific leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), and other sea turtles, paving the way for a brighter future for these endangered species.
We developed effective and feasible measures that focused on three mechanisms to reduce sea turtle bycatch in Pacific Mexico:
We approached this project through a holistic strategy because we recognized and considered it necessary to address a wide range of activities needed to help us achieve our goals and objectives.
Furthermore, the successful implementation of conservation initiatives depends on many interconnected factors (ecological, economic, social, and regulatory) requiring multidimensional attention.
In addition, we considered that a holistic strategy would focus our conservation efforts on activities that are of greatest interest and relevance to the communities where they would be carried out.
Our holistic strategy has focused on the following 4 main action lines:
Bycatch in coastal fisheries is among the highest threats to sea turtles in the eastern Pacific.
MARES Comunidad's approach rests on the understanding that reducing bycatch on Mexico's Pacific coast requires custom approaches built collaboratively with small-scale fisheries that would not compromise the fishers' livelihoods.
To start, we needed to know in which zones to focus our work and resources by improving our understanding of potential high-bycatch areas, characterizing the nature and frequency of fisheries interactions with sea turtles, and understanding the current artisanal fishers' and their communities' perceptions of bycatch.
To achieve this, we used Rapid Bycatch Assessments (RBAs), a systematic and scientific approach to rapidly collecting essential information on small-scale fisheries and bycatch interactions with non-target species such as sea turtles.
Our surveys were conducted in person. Respondents were presented with the survey scope and informed that all surveys were confidential and that they were free to accept or decline participation. If they decided to participate, they could skip questions they were uncomfortable answering.
The survey questions, tailored to collect information about fisher perceptions of bycatch, were comprised of the following sections:
Once the surveying was finished, we quality checked the data and standardized answers where needed.
The surveys were completed by 1357 respondents across 99 communities in 11 different Mexican states. To facilitate a more efficient summary and presentation of results, communities were grouped into 7 regions, which generally correspond to similar fishing areas and methods.
Fisheries learning exchanges are events or gatherings that promote knowledge exchange, capacity development, and collaboration among parties interested in fishing and related activities to improve or enhance the sustainable management and conservation of marine resources.
They also are a platform to exchange and document fishers' general perceptions of and ideas about how to reduce bycatch. FLEs also allow people with similar interests and experiences to make connections across communities and regions to enhance activities they are carrying out in their own communities.
Each FLE represented an opportunity for each group or community to recognize that they can become its agent of change, move towards sustainable fishing practices, and explore other economic alternatives that contribute to their well-being and food security while reducing the mortality of sea turtles and other species at risk.
Within the framework of this project, four types of learning exchanges were carried out:
We organized 27 FLEs between July 2022 and June 15, 2024, in Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán, and Guerrero. From 51 communities, 419 people participated (346 men, 65 women, and eight young people).
To reduce interactions with sea turtles, modifications to fishing gear, particularly gillnets, were designed to increase their selectivity (i.e., maintain target catch while reducing bycatch), in collaboration with the fishing sector.
To increase the chances of successful fishing gear modification being adopted, we involved the fishing sector from the beginning to the end of the project. Such involvement entailed the following steps:
In collaboration with volunteer fishers from three communities, Guerrero Negro (Baja California Sur), Bahía de los Ángeles (Baja California), and La Reforma (Sinaloa), we conducted experimental trials using three major fishing gear modifications.
The three major modifications that were experimented with are:
At each location, the gear modifications were designed collaboratively based on the results of interviews with voluntary participants. The participating fishers chose the nets' modifications that they believed were the most promising for their problems and work area.
During the project, a total of 101 sets were conducted from June 11, 2022, to April 16, 2024:
In total, 15 interactions with sea turtles were recorded; 11 turtles were released alive.
Captured species, including targeted capture and bycatch, were classified into major groups: scaled fish, sharks and rays, billfish, turtles, and 'other'.
At the end of the experimental trials and after analyzing the data, the results were presented to experiment participants in the three communities in person or online.
Then, the participants reported their perspectives, challenges by type of experiment, and suggestions for the next round of trials. All expressed interest in being involved in future trials.
For over twenty-five years, conservation activities have focused on sea turtles in coastal communities throughout the Baja Peninsula. During this time, trust-based connections with community actors have been cultivated to facilitate the development of research projects that support conservation efforts.
In the last two years, thanks to work carried out mainly by Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias (GTC) in northwest Mexico, trust-based relationships with community actors have fostered grassroots initiatives that benefit sea turtles and coastal communities in BCS—and other regions of the Mexican Pacific coast—through the MARES Comunidad Project.
We strengthened 7 grassroots initiatives that contribute to participants improving their quality of life by generating benefits such as economic income diversification, job creation, and the possibility of offering education to their children:
The constant support we provided throughout 2 years to strengthen community projects involved the following activities throughout 28 support visits, with an average of 7 in-person visits to each community group:
Finally, we have identified four key areas to strengthen efforts contributing to mitigating sea turtle bycatch while improving the quality of life for those involved:
