Fisher’s perceptions of long-term coastal exploitation in the North coast of Quintana
Roo, Mexico
This study will document long-term coastal exploitation in the North Coast of Quintana
Roo through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates ecological, historical, and
archaeological data on coastal exploitation, together with traditional fishers’ knowledge,
collected through surveys. Our results will be open-access in the online repository
(DataMARES) and can provide guidelines for developing policies focused on sustainably
managing coastal fisheries and landscapes in the North Coast of Quintana Roo.
Preliminary results from Chiquila and Isla Holbox show increasing fishing effort
through the mid 20th century, overfishing of higher trophic level fish and fishing
with illegal nets near shore. In addition, fishers recall abundant schools of near
shore fish. Manatees were abundant in the region, and were fished for their meat.
Archaeological information for Mexico will be obtained from the binational Costa
Escondida Project. The increasing fishing effort and growing tourism industry in the
Yucatan Peninsula makes this kind of regional information timely for the future welfare
of coastal communities and their natural capital.