MSC pre-assessment made public 

Participants confirmed 

Updated 2023 workplan

Updated 2021 workplan

Workplan made public 

To implement monitoring of the 2024 fishing season, 16 people from four cooperatives and six fishing companies were trained. For the 2024 season, 235 smaller and 41 medium-high vessels will be monitored, distributed in seven fishing communities on the coast of Yucatán (Celestún, Progreso, Chuburná, Chicxulub, Telchac, Dzilam de Bravo and El Cuyo).

On April 22 and 23, 2024, the third annual Octopus Fishery Workshop was held in the Yucatan Peninsula, with a central focus on promoting effective compliance with the Octopus Fisheries Management Tools.

A fishing monitoring report for the 2023 season pulled from PescaData digital logbooks has been made available; 52,473 kg of bait was logged using two different crab species: the mangrove crab and the spider crab. No horseshoe crab or any other ETP species was logged as bait.

The FIP participated in a workshop with the fishing sector that prompted fishers to provide feedback on the FMP. 

 The second annual octopus fishery workshop focused on bait species and generated proposals for management, involving presentations, discussions, and group activities. 

A genetic analysis has been conducted on bait species used in the fishery; no horseshoe crab or other ETP species were identified in the study. 

The FIP conducted a review of the current management regulations for horse crab. 

A draft manuscript is in the stages of final review. The manuscript emphazises using Total Latent Productivity (TLP) for quotas, not MSY and suggests that the octopus stocks in Yucatan are stable despite biomass fluctuations. 

The FIP continues to work on the FMP and several meetings have been held to discuss its progress; the feedback process remains underway. 

A fishing monitoring report for the 2022 season pulled from PescaData digital logbooks has been made available; 29,129 kg of bait was logged from three different crab species: the mangrove-land crab, the spider crab and the blue crab. No horseshoe crab or any other ETP species was logged as bait.

The FIP has produced a randomized audit protocol for small-scale fisheries; the first audit process took place from November 2022- March 2023 and will serve as a basis for further review of compliance and enforcement of regulations.

The 2022 season catch quota for the octopus fishery in the Yucatan peninsula, established as 18,955 tons, has been published. 

Mexican authorities have released an updated techincal report that provides new information on the octopus fishery population; the data within the report suggests that the population of O. maya is below the BMSY level, while O. vulgaris is not.

The Consultative Committee of the Octopus Fishery in Yucatan held a virtual meeting at the beginning of the 2022 season to discuss monitoring progress and the implementation of the management plan.

A 2022 training and monitoring report has been produced; six observers were trained in the month of July and are now recording data via the PescaData e-logbook.

A virtual stock assessment workshop with INAPESCA was held to provide feedback and agree on the proposed and currently implemented methodologies

 COBI conducted a monitoring exercise of the Fishery Management Plan for the octopus fishery and the results presented to the FIP board of directors

The foundations of FIP governance have been established through internal regulations and a code of ethical principles for all FIP participants. 

A pilot monitoring is being carried out with the FIP fishing companies, and the results of the season (August 2021) are being analyzed in a preliminary report.

The steering committee created a code of ethics called "Principles of the Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) of the Octopus Fishery in Yucatan Mexico" which establishes the rules for full compliance with the regulatory framework

The FIP plans to increase monitoring at sea and on land

Manual for taking bait samples or octopus fishing has been prepared

An octopus committee meeting was held in October 2019 where it was proposed to include the CONAPESCA representative to strengthen surveillance actions in the fishery, and reduce illegal fishing rates and regulate the number of informal vessels.

A paper was published on information on biomass and distribution of Mayan octopus on the east coast of Yucatan

In July 2019 the Consultative Committee for Octopus Fisheries Management was established in Yucatan, in order to strengthen this fishery and find comprehensive solutions to its problem.

Increase to PI 3.2.3; Improvements have been made to monitoring practices such as the use of the use of SIPESCA and PescaData for real-time monitoring. It is likely there is compliance with the management system. 

Pilot companies that were trained via the PescaData application implemented and recorded their e-logbooks throughout the August 1- December 15 fishing season - data made publicly available 

Increase in PI 1.2.4; FIP has completed 'Stock Assessment of Octopus maya and O. americanus in Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean'

Increase in BMT score 2.3.3; 'Effects of the octopus fishery on the American horseshoe crab population in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, Mexico' abstract includes data that suggests there are negative effects of mollusk fishing activities on horseshoe crab populations. This information will help assess the mortality and related impact of UoA

MSC PI 1.1.1. score increase based on new peer reviewed analysis -The stock assessment was published as an open-access article in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, titled "Sustainable Fishing Harvest Rates for Fluctuating Fish and Invertebrate Stocks"

Increase in BMT score 1.1.1; 'Biomass and distribution of the red octopus (Octopus maya) in the north-east of the Campeche Bank' abstract shows main primary species are likely above the PRI