Integrated Management Zones

What are Integrated Management Zones?

Integrated Management Zones (ZMI) are a spatial management strategy for sustainable use that integrates three components: mariculture, Fish Refuge Zones, and quota-based harvesting. Their purpose is to restore populations of commercially important bivalves—such as pen shells (callo de hacha) and Pacific geoduck clams (almeja arrocera)—and to improve overall habitat conditions.

This model, led by cooperatives and fishing groups, promotes community participation in resource management, diversifies income sources beyond commercial fishing, and encourages the inclusion of women, men, and youth in all stages of the process. The results are compelling: by 2025, pioneering cooperatives have increased the abundance of pen shells by 637% and Pacific geoduck clams by 366% within their work areas.

Who participates?

1. Women and men fishers from Bahía de Kino, Sonora, and other communities that have replicated the model.

2. COBI, as a technical, legal, and financial facilitator.

3. Sonora State Aquaculture Institute, improving the technological package for cultivation.

4. CONAPESCA and IMIPAS, providing training in health and safety, as well as aquaculture advisory services.

5. Academic institutions and research centers that contribute methodologies and knowledge for bivalve collection and cultivation.

Since its start in 2014—and with renewed momentum beginning in 2018—this model has inspired and trained various fishing organizations within and beyond Sonora, adapting to different contexts and local needs to ensure the recovery and sustainable use of resources.