FIS
30 January 2014
The Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa) decided to set a permanent ban on the capture of white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in order to conserve the resource and protect its reproduction in national waters of federal jurisdiction.
The measure, which applies to federal waters of both Mexican coasts, came into force on Tuesday 28 January.
Under the new decree published in the Official Gazette for this purpose, specimens of white sharks that are caught incidentally during commercial fishing operations for other species must be released back to the sea.
Since 2004, the country has a National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, Rays and Related Species in Mexico (Panmct).
The authority established all administrative and regulatory measures to contribute to the preservation of the species, which are applied through the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (Conapesca).