Promoting sustainable sport fishing is one of Fonmar’s main objectives to continue promoting this important tourist activity.
One of the star economic activities of the municipality is sport fishing. Only with data provided by the BCS Sport Fishing Trust, this activity represents 40% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Baja California Sur (BCS); It is estimated that a tourist who comes to fish leaves a spill of 2,500 dollars a day, this is five times more than what a common tourist who visits the destination leaves behind.
The Cabo San Lucas marina has 800 boats dedicated to sport fishing, which generate between 100 and 150 thousand dollars a day. For this reason, the Fund for the Protection of Marine Resources ( Fonmar ), is promoting sustainable fishing in the communities so that in the future they can organize tournaments that can leave them with an important economic benefit.
“The importance of Fonmar in the state is to promote sustainable sport fishing, bring knowledge, train those communities that do not have sport fishing tournaments. In the position of coordinating sport fishing tournaments, we go to the communities, and we promote fishing tournaments, we hold tournaments in those communities that are isolated”.
Sport fishing has been the main engine for the growth and development of the destination, but this has been threatened due to the decline in the volume of fishing. Given this, Fonmar began to carry out actions so that this practice is not furtive and allows the species destined for sport fishing such as dorado and marlin, can reproduce.
“That is a very good question, in Los Cabos it has always been a trigger, small plane fishermen arrived before the start of sport fishing, with this hotels and tourism development were projected. Sport fishing has always been a pillar for Los Cabos; marlin fishing. Previously we had very good catches, now it has been declining. We have the motto that a marlin is worth more alive than dead, sport fishing is the catch and release to conserve the species destined for sport fishing”.
Fonmar is working hard to have inspection and surveillance equipment for poaching, which is often caused by the lack of control of the fishing licenses granted to fishermen and tourists.
“We are working in the different coordinations of the state, in the five municipalities of inspection and surveillance, each coordinator has a surveillance inspector. They are the people who, with their entire Fonmar team from each municipality, have been working tirelessly based on the complaints made by the fishermen themselves.”
So important has been the recovery of this sector that during its high season from October to November last year, it left an economic spill of more than 50 million dollars.
