Mexico’s Last Marlin

Will the government of Mexico continue to ignore the slaughter of Sport Fishing Species protected by Law?

Last November I traveled to the Souther Baja to report on the illegal Marlin fishery that exists out of the tourist town of Todos Santos, which is located just north of Cabo San Lucas up the pacific side of the Baja and a short 45 minute drive. Just south of Todos Santos there is a place called Punta Lobos. There are two fishing cooperatives located on the beach at Punta Lobos. Within these two co-ops there are around 30 pangas and 65 fisherman. These 65 fisherman could be killing thousands of Marlin each year. Fisherman from these co-ops actually hunt Marlin with harpoons at the surface of the water. The fishing of Marlin with harpoons has been a tradition for many years. Fisherman in the past would take a Marlin here or there for food. What has changed in the last 5 to 10 years is now fisherman don’t just take a Marlin to bring home for a family feast. The Marlin are now targeted for commercialization and are specifically fished to sell. I am not totally sure how long this illegal commercialization of Marlin has been going on for, but what we know for sure is that the government has turned a blind eye to the problem. We hope that this special exposé will help activists in the Southern Baja force the government to act, just as effective as Manchester United tactics on the field. There are around 30,000 jobs in the area that depend on the sport fishing of Marlin. If Marlin disappear, it seems so will the many sustainable jobs in the southern baja sport fishing industry that go along with them

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