Hot Issues

Chasing Pistoleros

Dec 3, 2009

Hi everyone,

I began writing this email for the Vigilance and Legal Subgroup, but then I realized that it might be of interest to all of Plataforma, as well as Ramiro and Luis Antonio. So here goes.

Yesterday evening, some of us were able to experience another chapter of the Observatorio Ciudadano (OC) that I think is worth sharing and from which I believe we can learn a lot about how to improve the vigilance system that is not currently working.

Well, the story goes more or less like this. Around 8pm we received notification from the OC crew that they had detected a panga (small fishing boat) with pistoleros (spearfishermen) along with their catch up around La Gaviota. Those of us on the ground that received the notification directed it to three different official administrative bodies:

1) the Bahía de La Paz Vigilance and Protection Committee, via Ramiro
2) the Secretariat of the Navy, via Naval Officer Ojeda
3) CONAPESCA, via Arturo

From the moment that the Observatorio Ciudadano detected the panga with pistoleros up around La Gaviota, they followed at a reasonable distance so as to avoid any type of contact, though still close enough to allow us to know if the pistoleros would continue spearfishing or if they would leave the catch somewhere on land.

There was constant communication along the way with both the Navy and CONAPESCA. Arturo, in particular, was ready on land to inspect the catch should the panga come ashore. In the end, the panga with its pistoleros arrived on shore in the mangrove area over by CICIMAR. According to reports from the Observatorio’s crew, it’s possible that the pistoleros were picked up by a car.

This is more or less the end of the story. The most important part now is tracking these events on land, with an emphasis on a review of what was learned from this experience. Particularly, I would like to propose that we undertake this process together with the authorities since this is the only way we will be able to strengthen the vigilance system that as yet has various weaknesses. Some points to consider are:

» FONMAR’s panga wasn’t running, so it couldn’t take Arturo out onto the water so he could take action. We must take steps so that when faced with these eventualities, FONMAR has the means to correct them quickly and be able to act.

» To our knowledge, the Navy never went out to sea. The panga with pistoleros practically passed right in front of the naval base, and even then they couldn’t detain them for inspection. We need to improve this reaction time.

» Arturo, the fisheries officer, never had an official vehicle to get to the scene of the event and exercise his authority.

As far as the OC, in my opinion our crew did exactly what it should have: observe, record and report. Thanks to this excellent work, we now have more aspects to think about in terms of strengthening the governmental vigilance system. I think this information is much more valuable than some authority catching that panga by happenstance, because our main contribution should be just that: strengthening government structures and mechanisms to enable them to perform their work at any time or under any circumstances but not replacing them. Once again, I want to acknowledge the work, dedication and effort of Beto, José Luis and Juan Francisco, and I invite you to do the same.

Have a great weekend and see you at the meeting!

—
Liliana Gutiérrez Mariscal
Program Coordinator
NOS Noroeste Sustentable, A.C.
Acceso ZOFEMAT #3230 al final de calle
Sinaloa, Col. El Manglito C.P. 23060
La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
Tel. (612) 128-4862 ext. 3
Cel. (612) 140-0658
Skype: baggira777