On October 26, 2011 in Hermosillo, Mexico, at the opening ceremony of the ninth annual Aquamar International Conference attended by hundreds of fishing industry leaders and government officials, the Mexico Gulf of California Pacific sardine fishery–the largest volume fishery in Mexico–officially received its MSC certificate. The certificate was presented by Kerry Coughlin, MSC Americas regional director and Dr. Sabine Daume of Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), the independent certifier for the fishery’s assessment, to Leon Tissot, president of the Cámara Nacional de la Industria Pesquera, Delegación Sonora, the client for the MSC certified Gulf of California Pacific sardine fishery in Mexico and Ramon Corral Avila, commissioner of the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fishing (CONAPESCA).
Later at the conference, in response to increasing interest from the fishing industry in Mexico, the MSC held an information session and reception for leaders of the country’s fishing and seafood industry, government agencies, scientific and conservation communities, and other related sectors. At the session, participants learned more about the MSC program and its benefits from Kerry Coughlin and Rodrigo Polanco, MSC’s Latin America consultant. They also heard from Ramon Corral Avila, who spoke about the importance of sustainable fishing in Mexico, as well as Leon Tissot. Attendees also learned about the role of non-government organizations (NGO’s) in the MSC assessment process from Dr. Luis Bourillon, Mesoamerican Reef director for Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI), a Mexican marine conservation group with extensive experience in the application of the MSC program in the country. Juan Manuel García-Caudillo, Director of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) Mexico, spoke about the work undertaken by SFP on Fishery Improvement Projects and other types of support available to fisheries who wish to move toward certification under the MSC program. The event was co-hosted by COBI.
Source: Marine Stewardship Council
