Tuna ranching in Baja California, Mexico

The Mexican tunafleet catches mainly yellowfin tuna and, to a lesser extent, skipjack tuna in thewarm waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean.These catches are primarily for canning. Ensenada usedto be the main tunafishery port in Mexico, and almost all of its production was exported to theUnited States.

A few years ago, thefleet moved to the southern ports of Mazatlan and Manzanillo, located closer tothefishing grounds and the major national markets, mainly Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.Thisfleet relocation negatively impacted the port of Ensenada, but bluefin tuna farming has beenestablished nearby as a lucrative added-value activity off the coast of Baja California. Wild tuna arecaught and stocked intofloating pens, where they are fed until they gain enough weight and fat tomeet market demands.