Mexico increases fishing development spending by 10.8 percent

Mexico will spend more than four billion pesos (US$325 million) in 2011 on developing the fishing industry, marking a 10.8 percent increase from last year, the Agriculture, Fishing and Ranching Secretariat said. Funds provided to the National Aquaculture and Fishing Commission, or Conapesca, will be used for “the sustainable development and organization of the fishing and aquaculture industry,” the secretariat said.

Some 2.43 billion pesos (US$198 million), or 61 percent, of the budget will go “toward supporting competitiveness via the Productive Assets and Structural Problems Management programs,” the secretariat said. The National Inspection and Monitoring Program and the Agricultural Areas Electric Infrastructure Program, or PIEZA, both of which focus on the environment, will get 650 million pesos (US$52.8 million).

The government wants to restructure the fishing and aquaculture industry in Mexico, a country that has about 12,000 kilometers (7,456 miles) of coastline, the secretariat said. The priority of fisheries policy in 2011 will be “environmental protection” and providing support for purchases of marine fuel, the secretariat said. Read more...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers.