Page 52 - Winter Breeze 2

and government regulations. So the once large trawler fleet of about 33 ships that called
San Felipe home, started to decrease as the banks started taking over the default mortgag-
es of these boats. Today there are only 3 local trawlers in service here. You may go to the
Harbor and see ships, but they are from other ports like Puerto Penaco or Guymas.

In 1960, a small replacement boat, The Panga, a fiberglass low cost and very efficient
boat, started to take hold as an alternative means of fishing in the Sea of Cortez. Ruben
found working on these boats meant less stress on the job and more time with family. So
in 1985 he bought his own panga, “The Victoria”. He and two other fishermen would go
out 20-30 miles and bring back a sizable load, in a boat that was easy to handle, stable,
seaworthy, and very safe.
In 2002, he joined a cooperative,
which is a government sanctioned
organization that works with local
fishermen, who are registered as
independent contractors, in regis-
tering them for government bene-
fits, such as insurance and social
security. In 2005 he stopped work-
ing on his panga and became the
President of one of 3 local fishing
co-operatives. Ruben will tell you
that the panga fishermen of San
Felipe live and die by the sea, eking
out a living from the sea. Their lives
are hard, their work even harder,
yet they persevere day after day

50