Abstract

NARCHI, Nemer E.; DOMINGUEZ, Wendi  and  RODRIGUEZ ARMENTA, Demetrio J.. The End of Affluence: Fishers and Fisheries in Bahía Magdalena in the 21 ^st Century. Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2018, vol.39, n.153, pp.167-198. ISSN 2448-7554.  https://doi.org/10.24901/rehs.v39i153.394.

Magdalena Bay in Baja California Sur has long been one of the most productive fishing areas in Mexico. However, its most important fishery products have undergone marked changes as stocks of commercial species are depleted. A significant proportion of the catch of scaly fish takes place in the Gulf of Ulloa. Recently, the economic situation of local fishers there has worsened due to a moratorium on fishing decreed in the second semester of 2016 to provide an opportunity to study the relation between fishing and the mortality of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). The article argues that the evolution of local fisheries has been chaotic from the outset, when it represented an easy way out from a decayed agricultural industry. Using vignettes that reflect the life histories of fishers, and by carefully scrutinizing the history of fishing in the area, we conclude that fisheries management in the area is based on improvised policies and obsolete paradigms.

Keywords : fisheries management; fishing moratorium; Gulf of Ulloa; stock depletion; fisheries policy.