A statement from the Ecuadorian Tuna Association has been issued in response to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's claims about Ecuadorian tuna fishing practices. López Obrador had suggested that Ecuadorian fishermen were catching juvenile tuna and encroaching on Mexican Pacific waters. The association refuted these claims, stating that tuna is a highly migratory species and that their fleet operates in several capture zones, some of which overlap with Peruvian waters. They also pointed out that incidental catching of juvenile tuna is common in the Eastern Pacific. The statement is particularly significant as it comes at a time when a trade agreement between Mexico and Ecuador, under negotiation for nearly four years, is stalled due to disputes over the tariff-free entry of Ecuadorian shrimp, bananas, and tuna into the Mexican market.