Decision Making in the Campeche Maya Octopus fishery in two fishing communities

Abstract

Decision-making in fisheries, particularly those involving capture, is a vital moment for participants. Fishers weigh their options while considering factors such as the environment, economy, resource availability, sociocultural environment, ability, and preferred method/gear. Eventually, the decision will be to resort to illegal and/or undeclared practices, which can affect common-pool resources. Octopus maya is an immense common-pool resource off the coast of the state of Campeche, Mexico, which could become unsustainable if current illegal and undeclared practices continue. Synchronic and diachronic perspectives were applied with methods such as the following: revision of the legal and sociodemographic dimensions, design of an ethnographic questionnaire applied in 2006 and 2016, and recording of biological parameters for landed specimens. In response to constant and increasing market demand for marine products, decisions were made to employ Illegal and undeclared practices to maximize profits. The practice of diving for O. maya capture boosted production by increasing the biomass landed per boat while requiring half the time investment and lower fuel costs. Catch biological data clearly indicated the use of illegal practices, with sizes below the authorized minimum size (mantle length, 110 mm) and the presence of spent females. Questionnaire data suggested that each community behaved in their own way and established its own local decision-making systems while considering socioeconomic risk and market demands. Sustainable management of the Campeche O. maya fishery will require greater data transparency and fluidity between government institutions and fishers, negotiation of compliance with current regulations, and more effective legal enforcement of them.