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Mike McGettigan, Sea Watch Founder, has been diving, filming & fishing the Sea of
Cortez year around for over 47 years. He has logged over 350,000 nautical miles in
these waters on one sailboat & 3 yachts. His activist history in the Sea of Cortez is here.

SeaWatch was founded in 1993 by group of people concerned with the rapidly declining fish populations in the Sea of Cortez. Since then we have initiated, petitioned and gotten regulations enacted that prohibit the use of compressed air for any fish extraction in all Mexico’s ocean waters.

In 2009, SeaWatch working with local supporters initiated citizen driven vigilance to stop illegal fishing that was taking 20 tons of fish each night and day from the Bay of La Paz.

This program, funded primarily by SeaWatch, has grown to become ROC the highly successful group of former illegal fisherman who patrol the local waters of the Sea of Cortez day and night. ROC patrol boats carrying government authorities are stopping the illegal fishing and other illegal activities harmful to the endangered and threatened marine species in the area.

There is only one place in the entire Sea of Cortez that has reversed the declines in fish populations. Twenty years ago the citizens of Cabo Pulmo National Park took matters into their own hands, and with community-wide commitment, stopped the illegal fishing that was killing the reef and reef fish populations by providing 24-hour vigilance. They reversed the decline and the recovery in fish populations was spectacular. Nowhere else has this happened in the Sea of Cortez until now. SeaWatch working with several local organizations has helped create a second major fisheries recovery at Espiritu Santo National Park in La Paz. For details please enjoy the video below.


In 2016 SeaWatch initiated and is funding a very successful campaign to replicate the success of Cabo Pulmo & help the regeneration in the Bay of La Paz and at the Archipelago of Espiritu Santo National Park. “Espíritu Santo es parte de ti” (Espiritu Santo is part of you) is a local, grassroots campaign working through community awareness in La Paz to restore community pride, promote good practices and eliminate illegal fishing in the park.

The Reef Fish Recovery Continues in Espiritu Santo National Park

It is only through your generous donations we are able to fund these and other organizations vital to the regeneration of the Espiritu Santo National Park, The Sea of Cortez and The Bay of La Paz.

We at SeaWatch Thank You!


SeaWatch Newsletters

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What's New at SeaWatch:


2023 SeaWatch Newsletter

We are continuing our 2023 efforts to fully protect the inshore reefs in Espíritu Santo National Park through modification of its Management Plan. The draft plan will be out soon for review and it's critical we apply more pressure for better protection. 

Ever since Cabo Pulmo National Park was created 27 years ago there has not been another reef fish recovery in the Sea of Cortez. To that end, we are launching the second phase of our campaign with a multimedia public strategy modeled after the very successful effort to protect the whale sharks in the Bay of La Paz. Read On...


SeaWatch Dream Come True

Since September of 2021, when our attorneys first petitioned the government to create large no take zones around Espiritu Santo National Park to facilitate reef and reef fish recovery, we have been building a dream team. A year later we have that team and a plan in place that is doing exactly that. To see the problem and solution. Click to view this short video...


SeaWatch Recovery Plan Details

This project will be the first recovery project in the Gulf of California since Cabo Pulmo, 27 years ago. It will restore the marine biodiversity of Archipielago Espíritu Santo National Park to a high level of abundance and reef recovery through modification to the park’s management plan and the deployment of policy and conservation finance strategies. Read More...


SeaWatch Annual Raffle

Scott Hanson donated his popular 19" bronze limited edition sculpture "Smooth Sailing" that retails between $7,700 and $9,250 depending on the gallery. Buy one or more tickets here. But hurry as only 150 raffle tickets will be sold!.



Espíritu Santo National Park
Recovery Project

Unsustainable, unregulated and illegal fishing practices during the last 40 years have severely impacted the diversity and richness of the Gulf of California, once considered the “Aquarium of the World”.
This national sea, dotted with more than 800 islands, is an ecologically unique marine ecosystem, and these island coastlines are environments used by marine species to complete all or part of their life cycle Read More...


Creating the Next Cabo Pulmo
Fisheries Recovery in the Sea of Cortez

Where there are fish of any commercial value, fishing interests will find a way to take them.
In 2019 and 2020 with the legalization of fish traps in the Espiritu Santo National Park (banned in most other places 30 years ago) it became clear that where there are fish, fishing interests will find a way to take them. Read More...


Fish Traps Devastate Marine Environments

Watch this video to see the evidence of the devastation caused by fish traps on reefs and reef fish over time. These traps are legal in Mexico and tragically in Espiritu Santo National Park. To learn more about fish traps and see the devastation they cause Click Here...


Sea Lions and Fish Nets

This video shows the entanglement of sea lions in fish nets and fishing gear in the Sea of Cortez. "Is this what we want in the Espiritu Santo National Park?"


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How You Can Help Save the Sea of Cortez

Consume Responsibly

Abstain from eating all fish that protect the health of the reefs including parrotfish and surgeon fish

Report Illegal Activities

Be our "Eyes on the Water" take photos, record positions, and send reports to the authorities

Donate

Your donations contribute to the work of Espiritu Santo es parte de ti and the efforts of ROC


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