Collateral (environmental) damage

A small item in Noroeste, that caught my attention today was from Escuinapa, which is still a fairly small fishing town. Like everywhere else on the coast, developers are trying to glom onto whatever beach-front and water access they can… and not always as environmentally conscious as even those who support unrestricted growth would like.

Escuinapa’s importance goes far beyond its small shrimping fleet. The estuaries there are where the shrimp breed. But… you’ve got it, estuaries are unsightly, besides being a convenient place to dump construction trash.

The problem for Escuinapa is that no one is watching. The Mexican Navy is charged with guarding the natural resources, but there are only so many sailors to go around. Jorge García Santos, a fisherman, complained to the Municipal council that in the last 15 days several tons of trash have been dumped. He blames the lack of enforcement on the fact that the Navy is off in the cities chasing drug dealers, and not focusing on the needs of these Mexican citizens and producers.

Eduardo Garcia Gaspar, in the same paper, makes the argument that chasing the narcos is counter-productive. He’s not the first to recommend just legalizing narcotics usage and treating it as a health problem (as Mexico did until the 1950s), but it’s the first time I’ve seen a Sinaloa “mainstream media” figure making the argument.  Carlos Fuentes said the same thing in New York.

I like my shrimp. One thing that keeps me here is I can buy it fresh from the lady who comes down the street in the morning pulling a little red wagon with the catch o the day jumbo shrimp. What are you paying at Long John Silver’s these days… and should you blame the narcotics dealers if the price goes up?