In 2023, the catch was 19,895 tons, that is, 93 percent of the goal recommended by IMIPAS in the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo

Geographic Indication granted to the Mayan octopus of the Yucatan Peninsula

MEXICO
Thursday, August 29, 2024, 00:10 (GMT + 9)

• With the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), the production and commercialization of this endemic mollusk will be exclusive to the fishery that takes place in the states that comprise the Yucatan Peninsula, from where it is exported to the markets of Europe and Asia, mainly.

• The declaration is the result of a request submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the IMPI, through the Mexican Institute for Research in Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (IMIPAS), on December 8, 2023.

• At the end of 2023, the capture of the mollusk was 19,895 tons, that is, 93 percent of the goal recommended by the IMIPAS in the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

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The Maya Octopus (Pulpo Maya) is the first Mexican fishery to be considered a national asset, the production and commercialization of this endemic mollusk will be exclusive to the states that comprise the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Mayan Octopus from the Yucatan Peninsula became the first fishing indication of its kind in Mexico to obtain the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), so its capture will be maintained under sustainable production practices, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

With this Indication published on August 23 by the Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property (IMPI) in the Official Journal of the Federation (DOF), this marine species becomes a national asset and its capture and commercialization will be exclusive to the fishery that takes place in the states of Yucatan, Quintana Roo and Campeche, whose production of this species is mainly exported to the markets of Europe and Asia.

He added that the protection delimits the coastal shoreline of the Yucatan Peninsula, which includes the states of Campeche, Yucatan, and the northern coast of Quintana Roo, in the polygon that extends from the coastline to a maximum depth of 12 to 15 meters.

The Secretariat pointed out that the published agreement also establishes that its capture will take place exclusively during the day and using the “Gareteo” or “Campeche” method, a highly selective system, characterized by capturing only octopuses without generating incidental fishing, which allows the juveniles to return to the sea and is sustainable because it protects, particularly, the females that released their eggs and are caring for them.

Drifting fishing. Photo: INAPESCA

He stressed that with the declaration, the Maya Octopus joins an extensive list of products with a geographical indication, such as the Cajeta from Sayula, the Alebrijes from Oaxaca, the catrinas from Capula, the hammered copper from Santa Clara del Cobre and the Butifarra from Jalpa de Méndez, among others.

The federal agency indicated that this declaration was the result of a request submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture, through the Mexican Institute for Research in Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (IMIPAS), to the IMPI on December 8, 2023.

It detailed that the published protection declaration also disclosed the criteria to which the product must be subject for its extraction, production or processing, packaging, packing or packaging, and, where appropriate, the corresponding Mexican official standards.

It added that the validity of the Declaration of Protection of the Geographical Indication “Mayan Octopus from the Yucatan Peninsula” will be determined by the subsistence of the conditions that motivated it and will only cease to take effect due to another IMPI publication and will enter into force on the business day following its publication in the DOF, it noted.

Mayan Octopus, a reference for Mexican seas

According to the Secretariat, the Mayan Octopus lives exclusively in the marine waters of the continental shelf of the Yucatan Peninsula and is characterized by having a soft body with bilateral symmetry, well-developed eyes with a spot or ocellus below them, and eight arms with two rows of suction cups.

Its reproductive period takes place throughout the year, with two annual peaks of maturity and spawning, which regularly occur in spring and autumn.

The statement indicated that the females reproduce only once and die after caring for the eggs. They are capable of laying a maximum of 2 thousand eggs and their embryonic development is direct, without larval stages. This species reaches its maximum size in approximately 18 months.

According to the biomass study for the Mayan octopus fishery, prepared by IMIPAS, in the 2023 season a catch of up to 21,392 tons was recommended in the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

However, at the end of 2023, 19,895 tons were counted, that is, 93 percent of the established goal. The figure is favorable given the adversities of the weather phenomena, the low prices, the instability of trade and the social problem that illegal fishing implies.

In 2023, the catch was 19,895 tons, that is, 93 percent of the goal recommended by IMIPAS in the states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.

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