According to the most recent report from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), fishing and aquaculture grew by 37.8% in the fourth quarter of the previous year, it also notes that fishing production is around 81,000 tons in the country. .
Without a doubt, this is a fundamental sector in the national economy that poses, among others, challenges related to the conservation of species and the care of ecosystems.
Cauca
In Cauca, in southwestern Colombia, there are different ecosystems that have abundant species of typical native fish, many of which are used in fishing operations mainly with three connotations: subsistence, sport and commercial.
According to Jaime Eduardo Mauna De Los Reyes, biologist, specialist in environmental management, protection of natural resources, conservation and recovery of ecosystems, and who works as a university professional in the Wetlands Area of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Cauca (CRC) , the main ecosystems that are objects of fishing in this department are found in the north of the region where the Cauca River and its tributaries cross; in the Patía River, on the southern area; and in the municipalities of Timbiquí, Guapi and López de Micay, as well as in the area of Gorgona Island, which corresponds to the Pacific Coast.
Faced with the panorama of this activity, which dates back to the Upper Paleolithic, which began about 40,000 years ago, the professional points out that in Cauca “fishing has been reduced in recent decades -although it is still practiced by some Raizal communities-“, and highlights that the aspects that have the greatest impact in this regard are overfishing, given that in different places in the jurisdiction “there has been intensive exploitation of the resource” and this has led to “fish populations of commercial interest or for feeding have decreased.”
In addition, he states that it has also been observed “how smaller and smaller sizes are caught” which has caused “the populations to be unable to rebuild.”
And another aspect, no less important, to which the expert refers “is that there is no difference, there is no distinction between females and males, so when you catch a female that is ovate, you are not only fishing for one individual but for hundreds or a thousand.”
Read also: What can we do to protect and conserve biological diversity?
And what about pollution?
Another key point that for Mauna De Los Reyes is the cause of the decrease in fishing in Cauca is the pollution of the rivers, reflected in the decrease in the quality and quantity of water resources.
“There are three types of pollution such as illegal mining – there are reports that in some water sources there is mercury that is used to benefit gold and mercury is known from the literature that can be bioaccumulated in fish – (…) another “The reason is pollution from the industrial sector – although enormous efforts are made to control discharges, there are companies that do not comply with environmental standards – and finally pollution from domestic sources,” says the prominent biologist.
Regarding the sedimentation, he states that it is not of the same characteristics as that which can occur in northern Colombia at the mouths of large rivers such as the Cauca and the Magdalena and explains that “in our case there is very large sedimentation, but due to of deforestation and mass removals that fall into rivers, but the impact of this on fishing has not been established.”
Finally, the scientist warns that, given the current panorama and thinking about strengthening sustainable fishing not only in Cauca but throughout the national territory, we must begin to know, value and preserve “the species that we still have left” and establish and comply with strategies that significantly reduce the discharge of pollutants into streams, rivers and the sea.
In this way, he highlights, species such as bocachico, catfish, nicuro, and sabaleta will be available for many more years in northern Cauca; the shad and the mojarra, in the Patía; and groupers, snappers, sawfish and barracudas, among others, in the Pacific Sea.
illegal fishing
Although so far in 2024 there is no record by the authorities of events related to illegal fishing in Cauca, it is worth noting that according to the Colombian Navy, between 2012 and 2022, more than 334 tons of extracted species were seized. illegally “many of them in the Colombian Pacific, especially in those general areas around the islands of Malpelo (Valle) and Gorgona (Cauca).”
A little closer, in operations carried out in mid-April 2024, the Colombian Navy seized 731 kilograms of illegal fishing in two operations. In the first case near Tumaco (Nariño), Coast Guard units of the institution located four boats, each one manned by three men of Ecuadorian nationality, who had in their possession 560 kilos of goldfish obtained in fishing operations in Colombian waters without the required permissions.
In a second operation, members of the Bahía Solano Coast Guard Station (Chocó), in joint work with the Mayor’s Office of that town, the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Authority (AUNAP), the Regional Autonomous Corporation for the Sustainable Development of Chocó (Codechocó) and National Natural Parks, located in the Utria National Natural Park, a 1,500-meter trammel net, in which species such as Sierra tuna, barracuda, bonito, burica, blacktail, snapper, sardinata and veranera were trapped, which weighed 171 kilos.
It should be noted that so far in 2024, the Pacific Naval Force has seized more than 5.7 tons of illegal fishing in the region.
Pollution and sedimentation, main problems of artisanal fishermen in Barranquilla
For fishermen in the Las Flores sector, in the north of Barranquilla, who live on the banks of the Magdalena River, illegal fishing is the least of the problems they have in carrying out their activity. The reason is that the maritime authorities do not allow them to do their work beyond 12 nautical miles after Bocas de Ceniza, where the tributary flows.
“We have a particularity in the issue of artisanal fishing and that is that we carry out the activity 12 miles out to sea, unlike other areas such as La Guajira that are 15 or more miles,” says Edinson Borja, leader of the Fishermen’s Association. from the flowers.
It indicates that the biggest problems they have are related to pollution, strong winds and currents.
“Illegal fishing has little incidence in our area, since this activity is generally carried out from 15 miles onwards, however, we are affected by the continuous dredging that is carried out along the Magdalena River and the pollution, which drags in its waters,” says Mr. Borja.
For this fisherman, there are other aspects that affect artisanal fishing, to which we must put a magnifying glass “for this reason, we are requesting the Ministry of the Environment and other maritime authorities to establish clearer rules of the game and determine some technical study in “which reorients the disposal of sediments and dredging products,” says the fisherman leader.
Read also: Guardians of the water: Peasants of the El Canal village.
He also asks that the option of fishing in other areas, logically equidistant, be studied, while accepting that this would imply adjusting the type of boats. Finally, he adds that they hope to “combine fishing with other tourist activities or that we can implement a fish farming project. These aspects would be essential to improve our condition and so that the activity can be more sustainable over time.”
Fact: Striped catfish is one of the most desired species in the Magdalena, Cauca and San Jorge rivers, given the high demand and its value in the markets, aspects that make it a main source of income for the communities of these regions.
Taking into account the above, each year the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Authority (AUNAP) during two periods (the first between May 1 and 30 and the second from September 15 to October 15) establishes a closed period in the aforementioned basins, which prohibits its commercialization and transportation, only allowing “its capture to guarantee the food security of the populations” and limiting the daily volume per fisherman to five kilos of the product in accordance with the established parameters.
