More Than 3,000 Fishermen Set Sail for Yucatán Octopus Season

Yucatán’s octopus season opened today, and port officials expect roughly 3,300 fishermen to be on the water out of Progreso alone during the first stretch of the season, which runs through Dec. 15.

Randyr Fabián Castillo Alférez, Progreso’s director of fisheries, said about 150 small boats, each carrying two fishermen, are heading out early, accounting for around 300 workers. The larger fleet is expected to contribute far more: some 200 vessels are set to sail over the first ten days, with crews averaging 15 fishermen each, for a daily total of about 3,000 workers.

Those numbers could climb as the season progresses, Castillo Alférez said, particularly if catches are strong and fishermen from other municipalities join in.

Octopus is one of Yucatán’s biggest fisheries by value. The season regularly generates more than MX$1.7 billion (roughly US$92 million) for the state economy, according to figures reported by Diario de Yucatán, and it supports thousands of jobs along the coast, from crews on the water to workers at processing plants.

The two fleets operate very differently. Small boats making same-day trips typically land around 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of octopus, a figure that can reach 200 kilograms (440 pounds) on longer, two- or three-day runs. Larger vessels haul in far more, with capacity for six to seven tons per trip — product that mostly ends up at Progreso’s freezing plants for processing before it’s shipped to buyers in Mexico and abroad.

Heated rivalries

Octopus wasn’t always so evenly spread along the coast. About a decade ago, Castillo Alférez said, the catch tended to show up first near Celestún before moving east, a pattern that sometimes stirred tension between fishing communities. For the past nine or 10 years, though, the resource has spread more uniformly, letting most communities fish closer to home.

Early prices are running MX$80 to MX$90 per kilogram (roughly US$4.30 to US$4.85) on the beach, though Castillo Alférez cautioned that the final number will hinge on supply and demand. He added that interest from international buyers remains strong, helped along by sustainability certifications that have boosted the reputation of Yucatán’s octopus — often marketed abroad as Mayan octopus — with European importers in particular.

One detail still missing: the official catch quota for the season. Mexico’s national fisheries institute, known as Inapesca, had yet to publish the figure as the season opened, though the industry expects it to allow for a sustainable harvest.

In the meantime, some of the small-boat catch is likely to go straight to coastal restaurants and hotels looking for fresh product, Castillo Alférez said. As volumes grow, more of the catch will shift toward Progreso’s processing plants. He added that companies involved meet health regulations and hold the required certifications for handling the product.

With information from Diario de Yucatán