Mexico to sink US$250 million in fisheries and aquaculture

Mexico: the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (CONAPESCA) has announced a budget for 2012 of US$251.1 million for the development of Mexican fisheries and aquaculture.

Jose Guadalupe Trujillo Jimenez, director-general for planning, programming and evaluation, explained that this budget would be used to meet the objectives and to implement strategies for sustainable development and competitive fisheries and aquaculture. He added that the budget was 5 percent higher than that authorized in 2011, which amounted to US$238.7 million.

From 2007 to date, CONAPESCA has invested more than US$970 million to promote fisheries and aquaculture activities, 150 percent more than in the previous six years. Trujillo Jimenez said that since the creation of the commission in 2001, the budget aimed at supporting the fisheries-aquaculture sector rose at an average annual growth rate of 43.3 percent from US$3.8 million in 2001 to US$203.5 million) in 2011.

The composition of the authorised budget for 2012 is as follows:

• US$158.1 million (63 percent) – development of the sector's competitiveness.
• US$52.2 million (21 percent) –  administrative expenditure.
• US$18.6 million (6 percent) – species sustainability.

FIS