Fishing for the Future: From the Sea to the Table

By: Paloma Valdivia, CEDO Intercultural

The Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans (CEDO), in collaboration with San Diego Zoo Global, invite all middle and high school students from the coastal communities of the northern Gulf of California (Table 1) to participate in the CEDO´s 21^st Environmental Contest entitled “Fishing for the Future: From the Sea to the Table”. The goal is to encourage fisheries in the region to make progress in fulfilling worldwide principles and criteria of sustainable fishing, along with the benefits this entails; such as the possibility of access to new markets,  better prices, environmental improvements and, in general, improving the living conditions of fishermen.

Table 1. Coastal communities in the northern Gulf of California invited to participate in the 21^st  Environmental Contest:

Baja California:  Ejido Delicias, Puertecitos, and San Felipe

Sonora: Desemboque de Caborca, Ejido Álvaro Obregón, Ejido Campodónico, Ejido XV de septiembre, Ejido Oribe de Alba, Ejido Plutarco Elías Calles, Golfo de Santa Clara, Puerto Lobos, and Puerto Peñasco

For more than 20 years, CEDO has been organizing environmental contests for young students in the coastal communities of the northern Gulf of California. The contests began in Puerto Peñasco in 1995, and in 2011 expanded to other communities in the region. Each year the contests address a relevant local environmental problem. Students and professors are invited to research the issue, then find and implement actions to contribute to solving some of the problems identified. The contests have been an enriching experience for the students, helping to change their perception of the environment while increasing their sense of identity with a love of nature, making them custodians of their natural resources and spokespeople in their communities.

CEDO’s 21^st Environmental Contest will last approximately 2 months (from February 10 to April 7), in which participating teams will evaluate specific sustainable fishing criteria for a fishery in their communities. This will be done through literature analysis as well as interviews with fishermen, authorities, civil society organizations and others. Based on results of their research, teams will develop a proposal to improve some of the lower scoring criteria in their fishery, and help to further the region’s fisheries towards sustainability.

The sustainable fishing criteria established for this Contest are based on the standards of international institutions for fishery certifications, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Monterey Aquarium (Sea Food Watch), in addition to criteria established by contest organizers. The criteria are divided into five general categories: 1) Description of the species, 2) Description of the fishery, 3) Health of the target species population, 4) Impact of the fishery on the environment and 5) Effective management of the fishery.

The awards ceremony will take place, for the first time, in the city of San Felipe, Baja California, coinciding with an environmental festival to be held on April 29^th of this year. Prizes by category for the winners are the following:

1^st Place

• Visit to the San Diego Zoo (as long as the participants have a valid visa).
• Travel through the Natural Protected Areas of the region.

Awards including in 2nd and 3rd place packages.

2^nd Place

One-year subscription to National Geographic magazine for the school.

Awards including in 3rd place package.

3^rd Place

Memorial plaque for your school.

Pack of books for each participant.

CEDO and San Diego Zoo are committed to promoting the implementation of the winning projects.

“For me, participating in the Environmental Contest was a great experience because I learned many things and discovered there are more people who are interested in caring for the environment, especially for marine life…”

Tibet Eduardo Cortéz

Pink Gold Team-ETI 37 Middle School

Winners of the 2016 Environmental Contest

Puerto Peñasco, Sonora

Information:

In Baja California:    Gladys Cossio     (686)120-6286   gladys_cossio_m30@hotmail.com

In Sonora:  Christian Chávez   (638) 382-0113 or 5     christian@cedo.org

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