The blue economy
Fishing and aquaculture
Ensenada is the state's fishing capital and one of Mexico's most important fishing ports, landing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of wild catch each year.
Baja California is also among Mexico's national leaders in aquaculture, and the center of the country's bluefin tuna ranching.
~268K twild capture fisheries production (2022)
5,690 tbluefin tuna ranched off Ensenada (2022)
$1.25Bpesos in aquaculture output value (2022, ~$66M USD)
Top tieramong Mexico's national leaders in aquaculture
CONAPESCA Anuario Estadístico de Acuacultura y Pesca 2023; Sepesca BC; CEIEG Baja California.
Two industries in one
- Wild capture fisheries do the volume. The state landed roughly 268,000 tonnes of wild catch in 2022, dominated by small pelagics such as sardine and anchovy. Ensenada anchors the fleet as the state's fishing capital and one of Mexico's most important fishing ports.
- Aquaculture does the value. Farmed output was about 10,554 tonnes in 2022, far smaller by weight, but its production value topped 1,251 million pesos (roughly $66 million USD at about 19 pesos per dollar). Combined, the state produces well over 250,000 tonnes a year.
- High-value exports point east. Wild sea urchin (erizo) and abalone (abulón) ship largely to Asia, while oyster and mussel farming concentrates in the bays around Ensenada and San Quintin, including Bahia Falsa.
Farmed species by volume (2022)
CONAPESCA Anuario Estadístico de Acuacultura y Pesca 2023; SADER Baja California. Bars scaled by tonnage; clam (almeja) ~4.7 t not shown.
The bluefin standout
- Bluefin tuna ranching is the marquee industry. Baja California, off Ensenada and the Coronado Islands, is the center of Mexico's engorda de atun aleta azul: about 5,690 tonnes in 2022 with an economic impact of more than 840 million pesos, exported largely to Japan.
- Coastal shellfish rounds out the mix. Beyond tuna, farms produced oyster (~2,567 t), striped bass (~1,406 t), shrimp (~63.5 t), abalone (~34.6 t), and clam (~4.7 t) in 2022, concentrated on the Pacific coast and its bays.
- Where it is headed. The trajectory favors higher-value species, bluefin tuna, sea urchin, and oysters, pushing value over volume into premium Asian and US markets.