Over 200 people from the primary sector, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations took part in the 2nd Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Festival held in Mexicali earlier this month. This included over 18 exhibitors from across northwestern Mexico, as well as other parts of the country, together to strengthen artisanal fisheries and aquaculture.
As Festival Founders, first of which was held in Puerto Peñasco in 2022, the Intercultural Center of Desert and Ocean Studies (CEDO) lauded the success of this second year’s gathering and noted it even surpassed expectations.
CEDO Executive Director Nélida Barajas Acosta detailed this year’s gathering basically focused on 10 areas to ensure that artisanal fisheries and aquaculture continue to be at the forefront and that the men and women of the sea remain in the spotlight. This included: improvements to technology and fishing gear, adequate tracking of production, examples of how conservation actions provide better production, better fishing and legislation to guarantee and guard rights of fishermen and women, among others.
Given the success of these first two Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Festivals, added Barajas Acosta, events are already scheduled to take place for 2024 in Baja California Sur and in Sinaloa in 2025.
For more information on upcoming events, visit their main campus in Las Conchas (@ the whale skeleton) and/or contact them at CEDO