Progreso fishermen returned to the sea to resume the 2022 octopus season, after the activity was interrupted for weeks by the red tide
With the dispersal of the red tide in Progreso, more than a thousand seamen in smaller vessels set sail for the high seas. Fishing in the region has been affected by events that have caused an octopus season much lower than expected.
The beginning of this week was crucial for coastal fishing, since it is assured that the rains helped to reduce the sea linen and thus allow the capture of the cephalopod, the only problem is that, until now, the price has not exceeded 150 pesos per kilo in the foreign market.
Julio Manuel Alvarado Méndez is president of the “Efforts Fishing” (Esfuerzos Pesqueros) cooperative, which saw losses of up to 10,000 pesos per boat that did not get a single kilo of octopus in the first days of fishing before the red tide arrived in the middle of August.
“Fishing Efforts” also contemplates tourism-related activities, but with the red flags raised on the boardwalk, there were no profits in the area. This group of sea workers saw how their investments of up to 400 thousand pesos, vanished in almost a month that the red tide took.
The experienced leader of the local fishermen added that these days the squid is the most coveted specimen and that it gives better numbers to shore fishing. The price to the public is 100 pesos per kilo, although it is also taken into account that this is due to the good production that is maintained since, in periods where the species is not found, it has cost up to 300 pesos.
TYT Newsroom
