INAPESCA and FAO taught a course for scientific observers in the shrimp fishery in the Gulf of Mexico
From the 2nd until the 4th of October, the Regional Fishing Research Centre of Lerma from INAPESCA held a course to train scientific observers in the shrimp trawl fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. The course was conducted by INAPESCA and FAO, and was attended by 16 students, including external participants, INAPESCA staff, and staff from the Technological Institute of Lerma.
During the development of the course, the observer manual was presented, which included a manual of observer behaviour, instructions for on board sampling, and an species identification guide, which includes photos and diagrams indicating the distinguishing characteristics of 300 species, both target and bycatch. Likewise, a database associated with the observer programme was presented. This database is a fundamental tool for collecting, ordering, storing, standardizing and processing the data, thus maximizing the potential for analysing the information.
 Participants from INAPESCA and FAO’s course in a training |
The above training was done in the framework of the REBYC-II LAC project in Mexico. The project is implemented by FAO and INAPESCA, in collaboration with institutions and organizations such as FIDEMAR, EPOMEX, Universidad Marista, CETMAR de Lerma and the System-Product of Shrimp of height of the state of Campeche.
The observer programme, which began in 2016 at the Sonda de Campeche as a pilot site, intends to expand to the Gulf of Mexico. It has the objective of knowing the biogeographic composition and population dynamics of the species that make up the objective and incidental catch, through biologic, economic, social and ecological indicators, considering variables such as seasonality, fishing zones, the depths and types of grounds, among others. All these will serve as a basis to implement better strategies for sustainable use of resources and the reduction of non-sustainable bycatch.