Volume 63
Developing Sustainability Principles for Assessment, Management and Eco-labeling in Sian Kaan and Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserves, Mexico.
Authors
Ley-Cooper, K. Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2010
Pages: 52-59
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty-Third Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: San Juan
Country: Puerto Rico
Abstract
An assessment of the biological and economical aspects of lobster fisheries (Panulirus argus) within two Biosphere Reserves in Mexico, the Banco Chinchorro and Sian Kaan, was conducted with the aim of proposing alternatives for improvement in the management at these Protected Areas. A local eco-labelling scheme, ?Chakay? representing all cooperatives that fish in these two areas, is discussed. The eco-labelling scheme is an innovative way used to increase compliance with management arrangements, which may in turn lead to more sustainable fisheries. This article reviews the eco-label implementation scheme as a commercial and legal strategy intended for generating an added value to sustainable practices, and discusses how it can be used as an instrument to help scientific monitoring and stock assessment of the lobster population.