And in Mexico, where economic power is highly concentrated, small fishermen don't have much bargaining power. If you're one of the big families or a big foreign company, you can make a lot of money here. If you're a small businessman, the deck is stacked against you. The Mexican government has not been totally unresponsive, though. Before former President Carlos Salinas de Gotari left office in 1994, he considered declaring the entire sea a marine sanctuary.
Smaller reserves are now under consideration.
And a federal panel is studying the region, although so far it has not initiated any action. Ramirez, a panel member, is skeptical it ever will. There's always meeting after meeting, meeting after meeting. There's no end to it. We don't need more study.