Yucatán Fishing Crisis: Octopus & Grouper Catch Plummets

YUCATÁN, MEXICO — Persistent rains, storms, and tropical waves affecting the southeast of the country have drastically reduced the catch of octopus and grouper, maintaining a state of crisis for fishermen in the region. On each trip, they manage to obtain only between 10 and 20 kilograms of product, a volume insufficient to cover operational costs that exceed 2,000 pesos daily for gasoline, bait, ice, and provisions.

Artisanal fishermen explain that current income does not compensate for the investment.

"We spend more on the trip than we recover from the sale," they state.

This is compounded by a drop in octopus prices, which have not rebounded despite the scarcity.

They also note that some freezing plants maintain their inventories with illegal catches from divers in other zones, which keeps market values depressed.

Martín Martínez, another maritime worker, indicated that many have chosen to leave their boats docked at the pier.

"It is not worth going out if the cost of fuel and bait is greater than what we earn with the little that is caught," he said.

The poor weather also directly affects the octopus catch, as storms prevent the boats from "gareteando" (drifting), which makes it impossible for the mollusk to embrace the bait.

According to specialists and recent reports, the situation is aggravated by the combination of climate change, which has displaced octopus towards deeper and warmer waters, and illegal fishing, which pushes prices down and complicates competition for legal fishing.

Despite record prices of up to 145 pesos per kilogram being registered in ports like Celestún, the low volumes caught do not allow coastal fishermen to recover their operational costs.

The fishing sector is demanding increased surveillance to curb illegal extraction, direct support to offset the high cost of supplies, and climate adaptation programs to sustain one of the most important economic activities for thousands of families on the Yucatán Peninsula.

Meanwhile, fishermen remain uncertain. They had hoped that September would improve conditions for artisanal fishing, but tropical waves and storms keep production at minimal levels and threaten to prolong the crisis in the coming months.