There are already four fishing sanctuaries in Yucatan: activities are prohibited in front of another port

The Mexican government reports that as of tomorrow there will be four fishing sanctuaries in Yucatan, areas where several activities are restricted with the aim of promoting the repopulation of commercial fishing species .

In the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) , the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader) published today an agreement that establishes a Temporary Partial Fishing Refuge Zone (ZRPPT) in front of Chabihau and that will come into effect tomorrow, Thursday of Carnival.

Precisely today, February 26, 2025, the tourist season begins for the Mérida Carnival , which will coincide with the Lent and Easter holidays , during which numerous Yucatecan families travel to the ports to spend a day or weekends.

With Chabihau , there are now five ports in Yucatan where there are a total of four ZRPPT , in which some fishing and sports-recreational activities (nautical tourism) are prohibited.

Yucatán has 13 coastal municipalities, of which five already have ZRPPT .

For now, the municipalities that do not have ZRPPT, where Sader does not restrict fishing and nautical tourism activities, are the following:

1. Hunucmá , which has a port: Sisal.
2. Progress , with Chuburná, Chelem, Progress and Chicxulub.
3. Ixil, with Uaymitún.
4. Dzemul , with Saint Benedict.
5. Telchac Port .
6. Sinanché , with Saint Chrysanthemum.
7. Dzidzantún , with Santa Clara.
8. Lagartos River , with a port of the same name and Las Coloradas.

According to a review of DOF publications, the four Temporary Partial Fishing Refuge Zones are as follows:

1. Celestún , since October 3, 2019, some activities have been prohibited.
2. Dzilam de Bravo-San Felipe , starting December 20, 2024.
3. El Cuyo, port of Tizimín, since February 19, 2025.
4. Chabihau , Yobain port, from February 27, 2025.

It was the fishermen themselves from four ports , organized in cooperatives, who processed these ZRPPT before the Sader.

The day after the publication of each Sader agreement , the provisions that are mandatory for all persons carrying out fishing activities in front of these five Yucatecan ports came into force in each ZRPPT .

Those who violate the prohibitions , warns Sader, will be sanctioned in accordance with the General Law on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (LGPAS) .

This establishes administrative punishments: warning, fine, arrest for 36 hours, closures, confiscations and the suspension and revocation of permits and concessions .

Based on the Sader Agreement published on October 2, 2019 in the DOF, in the Celestún ZRPPT , diving capture activities, recreational-sports fishing, and fishing for domestic consumption of any species of aquatic flora and fauna are prohibited .

In the Celestún fishing sanctuary , which is the largest of the four in Yucatán because it covers 324 square kilometers (km2) , only commercial fishing of the following four species is permitted:

• Octopus by “gareteo” (respecting the ban from December 16 to July 31).
• Carito ( Scomberomorus cavalla ), sierra ( Scomberomorus maculatus ) and beaked ( Sphyraena barracuda ), only using the trolling technique (dragging one or more hook lines) and in the period from October to February.

The bans apply for five years , until October 3, 2025 , in order to encourage the repopulation of sea urchin, abalone, cucumber, Mayan octopus, Caribbean lobster, red grouper and other species .

Celestún is a municipality of 8,389 inhabitants , of which 8,366 residents (99.7%) reside in the port of the same name and 1,696 men and women (20.2%) are fishermen , report the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (Inegi) and the Secretariat of Fisheries of Yucatán (Sepasy) .

After a five-year pause, on December 19, 2024, Sader published the agreement that established a 23.7 km2 fishing sanctuary off San Felipe and Dzilam de Bravo .

In this ZRPPT only the following two activities are allowed:

1. Sport-recreational fishing throughout the year , in accordance with the updated Mexican Official Standard NOM-017-PESC-1994.
2. Domestic consumption fishing of barracuda ( Sphyraena barracuda ) with a minimum weight of 1.5 kilograms, caught with the fishing gear called handline and using the "trolling" method, exclusively for the season from December 15 to June 15 of each year , in the navigation channel area.

Likewise, all commercial fishing activities and personal consumption of other marine species are prohibited for five years .

In this case, the objective is to promote the restocking of grouper, snapper, octopus, lobster and sea cucumber , mainly.

San Felipe is a municipality of 2,118 residents , of which 2,069 (97.6%) live in the town of the same name and 537 men and women (25.3%) are fishermen , according to Inegi and Sepasy.

In turn, according to the same sources, Dzilam de Bravo is a municipality of 2,936 people , of which 2,455 (83.6%) live in the port of the same name and 562 men and women (19.1%) are fishermen .

Furthermore, two months later, in an agreement dated February 18, 2025 , Sader established the 15.04 km2 fishing sanctuary , the smallest in Yucatan, off the coast of El Cuyo .

It is the most productive area for spiny lobster ( Panulirus argus ) in recent years, providing 75% of the catch at the state level, Sader highlights.

In this ZRPPT, Sader prohibited commercial fishing of spiny lobster for five years , in order to allow the restocking of this and other species.

Only educational fishing with selective fishing gear that has permits from Conapesca is permitted, which must be notified to the surveillance committee of the ZRPT El Cuyo , the federal agency ordered.

El Cuyo is a district of Tizimil with 1,787 inhabitants , of which 431 men and women (24.1%) are fishermen , report Inegi and Sepasy.

Finally, today, February 26, 2025 , Sader established a 28.44 km2 ZRPPT in front of Chabihau .

In this sanctuary , starting tomorrow and for five years, recreational-sport fishing activities and fishing for domestic consumption of any species of flora and fauna are prohibited .

Only the following three activities are permitted:

1. Commercial fishing for octopus using line and lead (observing the closed season from December 16 to July 31); the use of grampín-type traps with buoys and Indian hooks, and the use of hauchinanguero hooks at the tip where the bait for the octopus is placed is prohibited.
2. Commercial fishing for kingfish ( Scomberomorus cavalla ), sawfish ( Scomberomorus maculatus ) and billfish ( Sphyraena barracuda ) only from October to February and only with the trolling technique.
3. Recreational snorkeling .

In Chabihau , the restocking of red and black grouper, spiny lobster and red or Mayan octopus will be sought, mainly.

In this case, says Sader, 144 fishermen from three cooperatives working in Chabihau reported that in 2005 fishing catches and the sizes of the captured specimens began to decrease, and since 2016 these problems reached critical levels.

In response, the cooperatives, which are part of the Nautical and Fishing Committee, requested a marine fishing refuge in front of Chabihau .

This marine area is made up of stony ground (loose stones), whitish ground (“desert” where sea urchins proliferate), shellfish (broken shells) and grassland.

There, Sader adds, brain corals , known as "mucaros" and gorgonians, brown and red algae and sargassum are also observed.

For their part, Inegi and Sepasy report that Chabihau has 329 inhabitants , of which 100 men and women (30.4%) are fishermen .