Yucatan legislator sorry for reeling in catch during fishing ban

Facebook photo replaced with an apology graphic

Merida, Yucatan — A state legislator has issued a lengthy apology after a photo on social media showed her apparently catching banned sea life during a fishing trip.

PAN representative Kathia Bolio Pinelo posted the photo on her Facebook account Monday. It appeared alongside a message saying she was enjoying a “good Monday,”

An octopus and grouper were apparently captured off the coast of Uaymitún, near the port of Progreso. After unleashing the controversy, the photo was deleted from her account and replaced with a graphic containing a lengthy apology.

Octopus season ended in December, and grouper catches were banned this month.

The director of the Ecological Police of Progreso, Gerson González Ac, commented that the fishing ban applies to both commercial fleets and recreational anglers.

A sanction against the legislator has yet to be determined. The case has been turned over to the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries’ legal department in Mazatlán.

She likely faces no more than a fine, commission spokesman Felix Luna said.

The laws are aimed at commercial fishermen who have the potential to deplete populations of Gulf species. But if a commercial fishermen would have been punished, so should the politician, said Luna. No angler has ever been sanctioned for a single octopus or grouper, he added.

Bolio said she was unaware of the fishing ban.

{ Previously: Festival aims to support fishing communities during ban }

Source: Punto Medio

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