Interaction of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Production of Marine Resources: Advances and Perspectives in Mexico

Marine capture fisheries in Mexico are dominated by sardine, shrimp, and tuna, representing as a whole 60 % of the total catch. However, shrimp and tuna are the most important fishery resources in terms of economic value. Capture shrimp fishery in Mexico has exhibited stagnating catches (around 65 thousand tonnes) since the last two decades, and shrimp stocks have been clearly depleted in some parts of the country. Conversely, shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) aquaculture has shown an exponential growth in the number of farms and shrimp production since mid-1980s. As a result, currently, shrimp aquaculture production has almost doubled the total production of the capture shrimp fishery. On the other hand, total catch of tuna by Mexican tuna fleet has fluctuated around 130 thousand tonnes during the last 5 years (2007–2011). Contribution of farmed tuna (Thunnus orientalis) has been negligible in terms of volume; however, the price of 1 tonne of farmed tuna is about 7–13 times that of tuna caught by the fishing fleet, making it an attractive alternative as source of employment and income. The case studies presented here are indicative of the potential value of aquaculture as a complementary productive activity to meet the growing human demand for food from the sea. This is especially relevant in terms of global fisheries production because the maximum fisheries catch potential from the oceans around the world has apparently been reached. However, there are still concerns associated with aquaculture impacts on the environment that must be addressed.