Fishing activities in Mexico are conducted by cooperatives 

 and concessionaires. 



We have fishing legislation which favors fishing cooperatives. 

 There are at present 177 such cooperatives, with 22,1 19 mem- 

 bers, which own 275 boats outright and rent 1,045 boats to the 

 private sector. A basic task of the present Administration in 

 Mexico is to better acquaint the cooperatives with their rights 

 and obligations, so as to obtain better management of the co- 

 operatives and thus reduce their economic instability. 



There are relatively few large fishing enterprises, but their in- 

 fluence on the industry is decisive as indispensable links in the 

 production and the purchase and sale of fishing products and 

 because they possess large numbers of boats and gear. They 

 employ 4,432 fishermen and 3,000 workers, and to them goes 

 the credit for having acquired the necessary equipment which 

 permitted Mexico to engage in deep-sea fishing. 



At present, they and the Federal Government share joint 

 responsibility for exploiting our maritime wealth and develop- 

 ing a vigorous industry that can take advantage of that wealth. 

 The situation of our small fishermen is quite critical. Their 

 equipment is rudimentary, and for this reason they consti- 

 tute the bulk of coastal fishermen. A constant concern of our 

 fisheries policy will be to improve their efficiency and produc- 

 tion and thereby raise their living standards. 



Mexican private enterprise and the Government have made 

 considerable progress in industrializing fish processing. We 

 now have 154 industrial fishing plants, which include 58 can- 

 ning plants, 61 freezing plants, 16 refrigerating plants, seven 

 fish reduction plants, and seven of miscellaneous types. 



Studies are being made as a preliminary to establishing addi- 

 tional plants capable of low-cost industrialization of species 

 which abound in certain areas. These plants will encourage 

 the establishment of nearby collateral industries. 



There are also 14,150 nets of up to ten meters in length, 

 3,015 ranging in length from ten to 100 meters, and 1,535 of 

 a length greater than 100 meters — 18,700 in all. 



In addition, we have 1 1,541 fishing boats. The majority of 

 these are under three tons, which explains the predominantly 

 coastal nature of our fishing activity. Parallel with our efforts 

 to develop deep-sea fishing, our government officials are en- 

 couraging the participation of all sectors of the fishing industry 

 in introducing and intensifying the cultivation of species tra- 

 ditionally found in or near fresh-water lakes and rivers, estu- 

 aries, and protected bays, etc. 



The sector of the population engaged in fishing is less than 

 0.5 percent of the total economically active population, and 

 less than 1 percent of the population engaged in primary eco- 

 nomic activities. 



The development of the fishing industry requires the partici- 

 pation of the Federal Government in providing the infrastruc- 

 ture to attract private enterprise and cooperatives to those areas 

 where, despite the existence of abundant natural resources, 

 fishing activity is weak because of the low purchasing power 

 of Mexican farm families, or where industrialization of fishing 

 production is at a minimum or non-existent, because of a lack 

 of electric power, fuel, water and rail and highway links. 



Where fishing is concerned, the initiative of the Federal 

 Government and coordination of its efforts with those of pri- 

 vate enterprise and cooperatives is essential to a rapid and gen- 



Production in Thousands of Pounds, Selected Years 

 1950— 



MEXICO— FISH PRODUCTION 



Most Important in Volume and Value— 1964 



163,802 



1955— 



233,246 



1960— 



569,668— 

 $59,976,000 value 



54 



