The Midriff Island Shark Fishery

According to Conapesca it Never Happened...
It was Processing 50 Tons of Shark a Day at it’s Zenith in 1993

This is a great example of what has been killing the sea of Cortez. In a 10 year period from 1985 to 1995, over 200,000 sharks died in the San Francisquito Bay fishery before it finally collapsed. An almost equal number of other fish, the by-catch that couldn’t be sold immediately, were simply thrown away. The last vast area of breeding sharks in the Sea of Cortez was killed in a single decade. 40% of the sharks killed were pregnant females and Conapesca said it never existed as there were no permits issued for it. Perhaps the story will teach us a lesson that might save another fishery from extinction. The lesson must be that there is vigilance and enforcement, if not by the non existent authorities who said, there was no fishery even though over 200 boats, many from the south of Mexico were working it, than by the people of Mexico and the world. Citizens must get involved.

Shed #1 Bahia San Francisco Shark Camp	Shed #1 Shark Fishery at Bahia San Francisco
Juvenile Mako caught in gill net, Santa Rosalia	Whale shark caught in net, cut up & meat dried

August 10, 2015

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