IIFET 2006 Portsmouth Proceedings
AQUACULTURE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR NATIVE SPECIES PRODUCTION IN
TRIBAL COMMUNITIES OF TABASCO, MEXICO
Eunice Pérez-Sánchez, Universidad Juárez Autonoma de Tabasco
División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Carretera Villahermosa-Cárdenas Km. 0.5
Entronque a Bosques de Saloya, 86150 Villahermosa, Tabasco
eunice.perez@dacbiol.ujat.mx
Candelario Bautista-Cruz, Universidad Juárez Autonoma de Tabasco
bacc_010269@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
The experiences on reproductive management of native specie such as Petenia splendida (Tenhuayaca) in
the last four years in Tabasco, Mexico has generated enough information to allow the development of a
technological package for supporting sustainable rural production, particularly in areas where most of the
population belongs to ethnical groups. The chontales is the most representative ethnic group in Tabasco.
Nowadays, despite agriculture and fishing are still the main "natural" economic characteristic of the
chontales, amid of a poorly developed livestock rearing carried out by a few with a little more capital, the
economic revenues of the chontales can be among the lowest in the country. Although their precarious
economics, this tribal group is interested in the rescue, conservation and sustainable production of the
native fish by aquaculture means. The native species have an important place in local consumption trends
and traditions. Native species have an established local market and high demand, as consequence of overfishing and introduction of exotic species. Market price of the native species is generally superior (over
30%) to the one of introduced species, particularly in the case of Tenhuayaca (P. splendida), which has a
highly competitive price and similar to Centropomus undecimalis (Common snook). The establishment of
a hatchery system for Tengüayaca has allowed this tribal group to pursuit new markets at the local and
regional level to improve their livelihoods and restocking of local fishery.
Keywords: Chontales, Tabasco, Aquaculture, Native Species
INTRODUCTION
In Latin American countries repeated economic crises have resulted in conventional strategies being
limited in their ability to promote equitable and sustainable development. Although, in some countries
neoliberal economic models have appeared to be successful at the macroeconomic level, the introduction
of new technologies, privatisation of public services, commercialisation of common property resources,
changes in government policies for resources management and the general decline of agricultural produce
trade exert pressure on rural communities towards change (Hugues-dit-ciles, 2000).
In the rural sector, sustainable development is difficult to implement because institutional arrangements,
market forces, politics and research efforts may be biased against communities composition and
organization (Garcia and Staples, 2000; Rigby et al., 2000). The southern Mexican states on the coast of
the Gulf of Mexico produce approximately 85% of the total national oil production. The region has also
attracted attention due its important economic influence in terms of fisheries, aquaculture and agriculture,
and for its ecosystem diversity (Gold-Bouchot et al., 1999).
Inadequate institutional capacity reveals itself in the difficulties faced by government institutions to
mitigate the adverse effects of development on rural areas or to resolve conflicts over the allocation of
resources under public jurisdiction. To date, resource management in the state has mainly comprised a
collection of projects, which may or may not support sustainable development opportunities. Real
political commitment to the goals of production development is still rare, with little evidence in sectoral
plans, particularly for fisheries and aquaculture. The lack of coordination among different agencies and
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social groups has dispersed responsibilities. Because of these conditions aquaculture has been regarded as
an isolated activity rather than an integrated activity into rural development (Pérez-Sánchez, 2002).
This paper is a description of a Universidad Juárez Autnoma de Tabasco ongoing project funded by the
Tabasco State Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Development Ministry for the establishment of a rural
fingerling pilot farm of the native cichlid Tenhuayaca (Petenia splendida) in a Recirculating Aquaculture
System in Tucta, Nacajuca, Tabasco, Mexico.
CAMELLONES AGROECOSYSTEM
Although the Camellones were developed by ancient mexican cultures, such the Aztecs, in Tabasco they
were developed in 1976 as part of a project to improved livelihood quality of Chontales by the National
Research Institute of Biological Resources. The Camellones Chontales was focused on local agriculture
and fisheries integration for tribal families and they resemble those built by the Aztecs. The “Camellones”
are drained or elevated rectangular areas of land surrounded by water, trees and bushes. The last
“Camellones” still in production in Mexico are in Puebla, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala and Tabasco
States (Nava-Rodríguez et al., 2004). The mean income of these areas is low and the variability in income
is very high. This makes these areas most vulnerable to over exploitation (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. The Camellones Chontales of Tabasco
The quest is to develop an economic structure that allows tribal communities to maintain its cultural
integrity and develop new and improved methods of production. It is very important to understand that
economic development – the development of jobs and income – is a complex process. Instead of looking
at a single project at a time, an overall plan of action must be viewed to understand how the different
pieces fit together. In this way, the integration of a recirculating aquaculture system will provide a water
resources management of the Camellones Chontales and improve fish production for conservation and
restocking purposes.
CHONTALES OF TABASCO
The Chontales is the most representative ethnic group in Tabasco. Nowadays, despite agriculture and
fishing are still the main "natural" economic characteristic of the Chontales, amid of a poorly developed
livestock rearing carried out by a few with a little more capital, the economic revenues of the Chontales
can be among the lowest in the country. The households have a diverse variety of crops vulnerable to
environmental and market fluctuations leading to generation of very low surplus. The fluctuations in the
non-farm sector also similarly impair the capability of household adjustment. Their vulnerability often
acquires highly exploitative forms dividing them into different sub-groups of mutually conflicting
identities. Collective action, for economic purposes, among them is at times extremely difficult.
Although their precarious economics, family average income may be Pesos$300.00 per week
(~USD$26.00). The economic activities involve handcrafting with regional materials as “jicara”, which is
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a carved vase painted by hand with local landscapes and animals, ecotourism sites, regional food
restaurant with a pool and regional candies sell (Fig. 2). This tribal group is interested in the rescue,
conservation and sustainable production of the native fish by aquaculture means. Many of them are very
creative and innovative. Their relation with nature is the strongest because they are most dependent on it.
The group is formed by 60 families. Tucta community was selected to become involved with the
development of a Recirculating Aquaculture System due to its cohesive entity as a central identity in the
Chontales community of Tabasco.
Figure 2. Economic activities of the Chontales from Tucta, Tabasco
AQUACULTURE PRACTICES
In the Camellones Chontales only 17 families have developed extensive Tilapia aquaculture, with an
average production of 50 Kg of Tilapia by cycle (6-8 months). Native species have an important place in
local consumption trends and traditions. They have an established local market and high demand.
Therefore, they are over-fished and displaced by introduced species. Although, market advantages of
native species: a) Price are higher than Tilapia: Tenhuayaca local market price Pesos$65.00 per Kg
(~USD$6.50), Tilapia Pesos$40.00 (~USD$3.45), b) Higher demand from local and regional restaurants
for traditional dishes preparation and c) Consumer preference over Tilapia. Although, they are aware that
they may improve product availability and quality through the development of culture sites, current
operations have typically low outputs of product and financial return, due the lack of technical assistance,
financial aid and to poorly developed markets. They may have significant gains from their cultural and
social condition they have perhaps one of the strongest indigenous institutional infrastructure (Gupta,
1999).
Figure 3. Current aquaculture practices at the Camellones Chontales
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EXPECTED PROJECT OUTCOME
The project involves: a) The establishment of a fingerling farm using a recirculation system, b) Training
of the 17 family heads to install and manage the system in order to become local extensionists, c) Restock
“Camellones Chontales” with 5 gr. Tenhuayaca (estimated production 30,000 fingerling per cycle -45
days-), d) Provide 2 gr. Tenhuayaca fingerlings to local aquaculture producers (70,000 fingerlings per
cycle -30 days-) and e) Improve livelihood opportunities of the Chontales from Tucta by aquaculture
diversification (rearing Tilapia and Tenhuayaca) and brood stock and hatchery management (Tenhuayaca)
and f) an expected income Pesos $56,000.00 ~USD$4,860.00) as net revenue. In this way, this
community would have the chance to pursuit new markets at the local and regional level to improve their
livelihoods and restocking of local fishery
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ENDNOTES
The authors would like to thank Tabasco State Government, Victor R. Carballo-Cruz, Mauricio PérezSánchez and the Center for Aquaculture Technology Transfer (http://www.cetra.org.mx) for their to
support to develop this project.
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