MEXICAN FISHERY LBGISUTION 



GENERAL 



Mexican legislative thought mth respect to the fisheries is divergent in several 

 major aspects fron that prevalent in the United States, The differences stem from the 

 Spanish heritage of a centralized government ruled by a monarch as against the American 

 concept of sovereign states reling\iishing certain rights to the Federal Govemment. The 

 Mexican principles are reflected in her fisliery legislation which differs from that of 

 the Uhited States primarily as follows: 



1. Complete control of the fisheries is vested in the Federal Government. 



2. The executive branch has great authority. Other than the basic legislation, which 

 is approved by the Congress, fishery regulations are established by executive 

 orders or decrees. With the exception of one instance the agents of the executive 

 branch of govemment may determine the penalties for all violations of the fishery 

 laws. 



3. Special privileges are granted individuals or certain groups of individuals. 



Mexico's claim of nine nautical miles for territorial waters as against the United 

 States claim of three dc^s not arise from the same source as do those general principles 

 mentioned above. 



Mexico has three general laws covering fishing activities, (the Fishery Law of August 

 31, 1932, Appendix I; the Regulation of the Fishing Law of January 27, 1933, Appendix II; 

 and the law of the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California of December 26, 1938, Appendix III); 

 two tax laws (Tariff Act of January 20, 1933, Appendix IVj and Tariff for Commercial and 

 Sport Fishing of November 17, 1939, Appendix V); and a number of special decides and orders. 

 The first two mentioned laws and the fii'st mentioned tariff act govern fishing activities 

 throughout the Republic, whereas the Law of December 26, 1938 and the Tariff of November 

 17, 1939 are special in their application, pertaining only to foreign boats and only to the 

 waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. No special acts have been created 

 covering fishing by foreign boats in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean 

 Sea, hence the Law of August 31, 1932, the Regulation of January 27, 1933, and the Tariff of 

 January 20, 1933, apply to these latter waters. 



The ownership of territorial waters is vested in the Federal Government and by inference 

 so are the fishery products contained v.ithin these waters. This is established by Article 27 

 of the Constitution (Appendix VI), paragraph 4 of which begins: 



"In the Nation is likewise vested the ovvnership of the waters of the territorial 

 seas •" 



From this conKs the fact that the states have no jurisdiction over the fisheries and all 

 laws pertaining to the fisheries are of federal origin. This is further established by 

 Articles 6, 7 and 11 of the Law of August 31, 1932 (Appendix I). Likewise the Federal Govern- 

 ment is the only authority that can tax the fisheries. (Appendix I, Art. 11) 



The above practice is considerably at divergence with that of the United States where it 

 is generally recognized that the individual states have control of the fisheries within their 

 borders. 



In Mexico the federal power is supreme and extremely broad in its coverage as evidenced 

 by Article 7 of the 1932 Law which states: 



" the Federal Govemment may at any time restrict, limit and regulate 



filing, as regaixis the intensity of the activities devoted to it, the number of persons 

 engaged in it, the times vshen it may be effected, and the species which may be caught." 



