National fisheries chart 2000: a new instrument for fisheries management in inland waters

Abstract

Institutional and legal frameworks have a widescope and need for improving or refiningexisting fisheries management tools, and forincreasing capabilities of the public andprivate sectors to better manage thedevelopment of fisheries activities, either inmarine or freshwater ecosystems. Despite thelarge surface area covered by inland waters inMexico, its production during the last 20 yearsremained at the same level, i.e. productionused for local consumption in rural areassupports food for the poorest communities. Thepresent document deals with the most recentlegal exercise that shows that there are manyopportunities to strengthen technicalcooperation and develop policies and commercialissues related to freshwater fish in inlandwaters. The Mexican federal administration during theyears 1994 to 2000 fully endorsed policies thatbenefited the relationship between thegovernment and fisheries sector. The Code ofConduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), wasadopted in 1995 as a global intergovernmentalconsensus on the promotion of sustainablefisheries and aquaculture developments.Following its basic principles and norms, theNational Fisheries Institute (INP) elaboratedthe National Fisheries Chart in 2000. This isan example of recent advances to develop legalinstruments that fit the need for fisheriesmanagement. Such efforts and theirimplementation can be seen through technicaldata sheets in the (CNP) as well as othersuggestions provided to further promote thesustainable development of inland fisheries inMexico.