The laws are not enforced by anybody. That's not a strong statement. And it's not just Mexicans who break the laws. And sometimes, the American environmentalist joins in, too. The problem is not just Mexico's.
Oceans everywhere are hard to police.
And poaching is commonplace. So says the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in its 1995 State of the World Fisheries report. Worldwide, the illegal take of marine life is believed to reach into the millions of tons, making seafood a lucrative and little-known black market. For years, scientists focused on other issues, such as the size and health of fish stocks. Once, taking extra fish didn't hurt much.