"Ocean Adventure: Immerse Yourself in Nature"

Sea Watch is doing their part to preserve the Sea of Cortez. Leading by example and working with Conapesca to introduce legislation banning fishing with compressors and hookah in the continental and ocean waters of Mexico. This can only be good news for a body of water almost stripped of wildlife over the past 15 years.

From the Blog Ocean Adventure: Immerse Yourself in Nature

The destructive fishing methods that utilize hookah divers with nets and harpoons, that has devastated the reefs of the Sea of Cortez over the last 10 years are being banned by a new regulation adopted in norma 064. This regulation if enforced will stop the killing of over a 1000's tons of reef fish yearly in the waters of BCS.

Here is a letter dated 2/07/08 from a CONAPESCA official.

I refer to your request for information on prohibiting fishing underwater in any of its forms, with scuba equipment and / or equipment hookah in the Regulation Mexican Official NOM-064-CFSP-2006, about systems, methods and techniques that are prohibited for catching fish in the waters under federal jurisdiction of the United Mexican States, which was published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación for public consultation on May 8, 2007.

In this regard I wish to inform you that based on the technical opinion of the National Fisheries Institute (INP), as well as the recommendations contained in the Carta Nacional Pesquera (Fisheries law), the application was deemed appropriate, so the Norma Oficial Mexicana referenced will be published in the (Diario Oficial de la Federación ) shortly and provides for the prohibition of fishing underwater with scuba equipment and / or hookah equipment in continental waters and in marine waters.

In conformity with the above, under the heading of NOM-064 grouping systems, methods, techniques and fishing gear that are prohibited for commercial fishing, sports and recreational fishing, didactic and household consumption, including the method of fishing with harpoons and fítoras from the shore or from boats using the technique of diving with a compressor (hookah) in marine waters and in continental bodies of water, except as authorized by the Secretariat based on the technical opinion of the INP.

In regards to the steps to its publication, once approved at the Third Meeting of the Consultative Committee for Standardization of Responsible Fisheries, on August 23, 2007, a document entitled "Response to the comments and changes made to the Draft Norma Oficial Mexicana PROY-NOM-064-CFSP-2006, about systems, methods and techniques prohibited for fishing in waters under federal jurisdiction of the United Mexican States, published on May 8, 2007, "as well as the corresponding regulation, were forwarded to the Coordinación General Jurídica de la SAGARPA (legal) for their opinion, under the procedure established by the same Coordination together with the Oficialía Mayor de la SAGARPA. Once they have issued their opinion, both documents will be sent the Comisión Federal de Mejora Regulatoria (COFEMER) for the purpose of obtaining an opinion referred to in section 69-L of the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure, and then be able to publish them in the Diario Oficial de la Federación.

Atte. Lic. Belinda Cedillo Tirado
Director of Legislative
General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture Management
CONAPESCA-SAGARPA