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                       Felipe Calderon, Presidente de Mexico Cesar Nava, Secretario Particular Alberto Cardenas, Secretario Sagarpa Ramon Corral, Comisionado Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca Saniago Creel Miranda, Coordinador del GPPAN Manlio Fabio Vbeltrones, Coordinador del PRI Arturo Escobar, Senador PVEM Luis Coppola Joffroy, Senador PAN Jorge Alfonso Iturbide Gurerra, Tecnico Secretaria Partiular Presidencia Transmitted via Email Dear President and Government Officials: I have read recent press reports on the IGFA web site about the new Shark fishing regulation NOM-029 that went into effect on May 16, 2007. There are real problems with this regulation, starting with a complete lack of a comprehensive environmental impact study. Please use your office to help stop this regulation, at least temporarily. This regulation opens protected areas of the Sea of Cortez to commercial fishing pressure. As a friend of the International Game Fish Association, I am aware that the IGFA Offshore World Championship is a popular annual event that draws hundreds of international anglers and tourists to the southern Baja-area. This regulation will surely have damaging consequences to all those involved. I'm particularly concerned that the regulation permits pangas and medium sized boats to use longline fishing gear without any restrictions on "by-catch" inside the 50 mile zone that is supposed to be protected. The 50 mile marine fish conservation zones created over 20 years ago have been a conservation buffer protecting marine resources and deterring or limiting commercial large scale long lining gear. These conservation zones have been Mexico's only effective regulation to prevent dramatic over fishing of ocean fish stocks. Mexico was an acknowledged world leader in fish conservation when these zones, designed to conserve valuable marlin, sailfish, dorado and other fish resources, were created to insure the development and economic growth of sport fishing tourism in Mexico. Anyone can see that this will reduce the populations of sport fish that are so important to Baja's tourism industry. Please use your office to change this destructive regulation. Thank You ,