On January 1st, a temporary ban on the harvesting of chocolate clams will begin in the waters of the municipality of Loreto. This measure aims to “recover the species,” according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), through a decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on December 19, 2025.
The measure is based on a technical opinion from the Mexican Institute for Research in Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (IMIPAS), following evaluation studies conducted as a result of the meeting of the Loreto municipal fisheries and aquaculture committee held on May 19, 2025.
Local producers, along with SEPADA, FONMAR, and the municipal government, had already agreed in June 2023 to a two-year temporary ban that concluded in 2025, “seeking the recovery of the mollusk, but the results were not as expected,” stated Darío Davis Garayzar, Director of Welfare and Economic Development for Loreto.
Regarding the new decree that takes effect on January 1, 2026, the official explained that the closed zone encompasses depths from 0 to 120 meters throughout the entire municipality, a prohibition applicable to permit holders, concessionaires, captains, fishermen, and the general public.
“Individuals or legal entities that have stockpiles of this shellfish in their inventory before the prohibition must declare them to CONAPESCA within the first three days of this regulation taking effect,” he concluded.
Source: peninsulardigital
