Ismael Sánchez Brito, Marco Antonio Almendarez Hernández and René Arturo Kachok Gavarain (Cibnor, La Paz Unit)
The Coordination of Linking Innovation and Transfer of Knowledge to Society (Covitecs) of the Northwest Biological Research Center (Cibnor) collaborates in the project “Production of high marine protein food, through the implementation of artisanal aquaculture models, to strengthen the economy of coastal communities of the Mexican Pacific”, financed by the National Council of Humanities, Science and Technology (Conahcyt) within the framework of the National Strategic Program (Pronaces) Food Sovereignty.
The participation of Covitecs is mainly directed towards the fulfillment of the following particular objectives: a) the definition of risk of the activity; b) publicize the species to be produced, and c) train the actors involved in administrative aspects. Additionally, consumer preference surveys are carried out both among cooperative members and the general public in the states of Oaxaca and Colima.
To meet these three impact objectives, two workshops were held.
The first, from August 22 to 24 of this year in the towns of Mazunte, municipality of Santa María Tonameca, and Puerto Ángel, municipality of San Pedro Pochutla, in the state of Oaxaca, with the Sociedad Cooperativa Pesquera «Mazunte 2000 SC de RL de CV» and the support of the Universidad del Mar (Umar), through the participation of researchers Pablo Antonio Pintos Terán and Cuitláhuac Hernández Santiago.
The second workshop was held on September 5 and 6 in the town of Manzanillo, municipality of the same name in the state of Colima, with the Aquaculture Cooperative “Acuacultores de la Laguna de Cuyutlán” and the support of the director Andrés Olmedo Valdovinos and the researcher Rodrigo Martínez Moreno, belonging to the Regional Aquaculture and Fisheries Research Center (CRIAP), of the National Fisheries Institute (Inapesca).
The first advocacy objective is to define the risk of artisanal aquaculture activity; This is carried out from the perception of the producers based on their experience, obtaining indicators from various areas that possibly affect production, such as: a) economic; b) financial; c) hydrometeorological phenomena; d) climatic events, such as “El Niño” and “La Niña”, and e) the perception of catches or production, fishing or aquaculture.
For the second impact objective, questionnaires were applied to both cooperative members and the general public; With the information collected, the demand for fish and the main fishing resources that are consumed will be determined, as well as other variables related to price, quality, freshness, availability and quantity consumed, among others. This survey was applied in the towns of Mazunte, Puerto Ángel, San Pedro Pochutla and Santa María Tonameca, in the federal entity of Oaxaca. In Manzanillo, one of the most important commercial ports in Latin America, located in the state of Colima, the same questionnaire was also applied.
Additionally, a question was incorporated regarding the willingness to purchase and consume the resource that will potentially be produced (that is, sea bass, red snapper, snapper and horse mackerel) in the aquaculture units that are projected to be installed in Mazunte, Santa María Tonameca, from the state of Oaxaca, and the Laguna de Cuyutlán in Manzanillo, from the state of Colima.
Regarding the third objective, which is the training of the actors involved in administrative issues, the study carried out in the previous stage was presented in relation to the characterization of the value chain and the identification of the closest inputs and supplies, as well as the possible potential markets where you can market your products. It must be emphasized that they are artisanal aquaculture production units and that they must have supplies of the product that are easily accessible and close to their locations so as not to incur additional transportation costs.
Finally, a socioeconomic survey was carried out with the participation of the «Cooperativa Mazunte 2000», of Oaxaca, and the cooperatives «Sociedad Cooperativa de Produccion Pesquera La Laguna de Cuyutlán Alameda», «Cooperative de Produccion Pesquera Ribereña La Negrita» and the « Cooperativa Acuacultores de la Laguna de Cuyutlán” in Manzanillo, Colima, with the objective of defining a socioeconomic profile of the population that is being influenced.
The questions included basic indicators of human development, such as income, level of schooling and access to health, as well as indicators of marginalization, such as access to public services, the material with which the home is built, how many people live in the home, and thus know if there is a problem of overcrowding, among others. Questions regarding the impact and prevention of hydrometeorological phenomena were also included to obtain a vision of resilience and adaptation to these climatic manifestations.
Authors
Dr. Ismael Sánchez Brito (isanchez@cibnor.mx), Dr. Marco Antonio Almendarez Hernández (malmendarez@cibnor.mx) and the master of sciences René Arturo Kachok Gavarain (rkachok@cibnor.mx) are attached to the Coordination of Linking Innovation and Transfer of Knowledge to Society (Covitecs) of the Northwest Biological Research Center (Cibnor).
Artwork credit
Photographs provided by the authors.
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