Middlemen, informal trading and its linkages with IUU fishing activities in the port of Progreso, Mexico

This paper explores the economic environment that makes informal fish trading possible, the nature of these activities and how they are interconnected or might stimulate IUU fishing activities in the port of Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico. The main argument is that fish trading by middlemen has been developed within the scope of an informal sector which depends on the existence of structural and organizational factors such as: a dual economic system where the formal and informal sectors are complementary, and an institutional environment and a socio-economic network that interconnects both sectors and supports the activity. Research for this study was carried out during 2008 and 2009 in the port of Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico. The survey strategy was a non-probability sample adapting and combining chain referral techniques because middlemen in this region are a hidden population. Findings indicate that the main motivation for middlemen to remain underground is to maximize benefits. In order to do so, they need to build a socioeconomic network which is the center of their trading system. This way of operating generates incentives for fishers to fish illegally because middlemen would buy their products even if they do not meet formal regulations. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.