Closed Season

The octopus fishery in the Yucatan Peninsula is the third largest of its kind worldwide and a crucial source of income for 20,000 local fishermen, but illegal practices throughout the supply chain threaten its future and the ecosystem. In result, Mayan Octopuses are being caught before they reach maturity, drastically reducing the numbers of octopuses available each season, causing the imminent collapse of the once called "fishery of hope". Closed Season is part of a larger journalistic research called 'The Illegal Supply Chain Behind the Baby Octopus Delicacy in Yucatán', including an article and photographs. Financed by the Pulitzer Center and published by America Futura, El País in December 2023.