2015 Articles & Videos

We invite you to browse through these articles and videos. Some local and some worldwide, some written by SeaWatch and some reprinted and reposted from online and magazines. These articles and videos show the success of SeaWatch, the changes in the Sea of Cortez and the world's oceans.

Help!

In November of 2015 SeaWatch asked for help. We hoped pople would contact PEODWPA to ind out how they resolved a report made by ROC on observed illegal fishing. The Report...

Prohibited Fishing Methods

The director of SeaWatch, and attorney Maria Ugarte, in 2009 sponsored and got a new federal regulation in Norma 064 approved, which prohibits the use of hookah or any source of compressed air for the extraction of fish. While, in fact, since 2009 the norm was achieved in BCS, it took the Federal Government until January 2015 Read more...

Barren Reefs

These videos show the barren reefs around the lower gulf islands in the Sea of Cortez and explain what happened. The short videos show you how barren the reefs are and why. A large part of the destruction has been caused by pistoleros and encerradores. Since the reef cleaning grazers, parrotfish and surgeon fish have been eliminated the reefs Read more...

Private Fishing Grounds

The no extraction biosphere reserve at Los Islotes has become the private fishing ground for yachts that can’t find fish in any other place. Most evenings, about an hour before dark, you can see boats arrive checking to see that no one is in the area before they start spearfishing illegally. There has never been good vigilance protecting this vital area in the evening and at night (OC was there in 2010). Since diving is the main reason to visit La Paz for many tourists Read More...

OC Deserves Your Support

Sea Watch helped start and fund with (NOS) and several other NGO’s a group called Observatorio Ciudadano (OC) or Citizen Observers in 2009. 2010 was a year devoted to implementing that vigilance program. In its first year of operation it was successful beyond what many imagined and you can see more fish on every reef around the Bay of La Paz. See some of the latest short videos Read More...

SeaWatch Works With Televisa

Sea Watch works closely with Armando Figaredo and Televisa providing accurate and up to date reports reports on the state of the fisheries in the Sea of Cortez Read more...

Espiritu Santo Nuclear Zone at Punta Bonanza

The nuclear no take zone at Bonanza is anything but that. It is a popular first stop for sports boats coming from La Paz. Pictures here were taken in the Nuclear Zone at La Bonanza May 8th at 8:50 AM local time. There were 5 local sports boats fishing that morning during the 30 minutes we were watching. They are fishing their most mornings as it is the first point they stop after coming from La Paz. Read More...

St. Valentines Day Massacre

Be sure to read this 1994 article published in Ocean Realm Magazine describing the events resulting in the killing of giant Pacific mantas at Isla San Benedicto in the Revillagigedo Islands. Read More...

Isla San Benedicto in Troubled Waters

Article describing the degradation by illegal fishing activities of the supposedly ‘protected’ San Benedicto Island in the Revillagigedo Island group as witnessed by original author Mike McGettigan and his partner Sherry Shaffer, Baja Life, Apr 1, 1994. Read More...

Video Showing Killing of Giant Pacific Mantas

This video, made in early 1994, describes the killing of the giant Pacific Manta Rays at San Benedicto Island in the Revillgigedo Island group. Footage from this film made by Sea Watch went world wide and was the catalyst Pronatura used to get President Gotari in 1994 to declare the Revillagigedos a biosphere reserve and apply a $10,000 fine for killing a Giant Manta. Read More...

Illegal Encerradores Continue to Destroy Reefs

Espritu Santo Island, a World Heritage Site, a Marine Protected Area and a Biosphere. You might think that would give the Island some protection against Illegal fishing. Think again, those designations are exactly what the illegal fishing community wants, as it makes it a private fishing ground for Illegal fishing with little competition. This will always be the case without vigilance and enforcement. The money spent over the years in Mexico making marine parks is wasted without vigilance and enforcement. Read More...

Whalesharks the Lifeblood of La Paz Tourism

Whale sharks have become big business in La Paz Mexico. Last year in 2014 Sea Watch saw that many of the Whale sharks (2/3 by the end of the season in June) had been damaged by propellers. After photgraphing the damage we worked with Televisa’s Armando Figaredo to publicize this problem and get officials to offer some protection. See video below. Action was promised and this year in the fall of 2015 after checking with Dra. Deni Ramírez, Read More...

The Midriff Island Shark Fishery

This is a great example of what has been killing the sea of Cortez. In a 10 year period from 1985 to 1995, over 200,000 sharks died in the San Francisquito Bay fishery before it finally collapsed. An almost equal number of other fish, the by-catch that couldn’t be sold immediately, were simply thrown away. Read More...

Parrotfish Still Targeted by Pistoleros

There are almost no parrotfish left on Espiritu Santo Island due to illegal fishing by pistoleros and encerradores and legal spearfishing by freedivers. See the video below to better understand the damage being done by Pistolero’s and Encerradores. The people in La Paz will need to decide whether the value of eating parrotfish is worth destroying the reefs and ecosystem at Espiritu Santo Island and the Bay of La Paz. Read More...

One Year After PROFEPA has done nothing!

It is obvious to us that the most beautiful of the southern gulf Islands Espiritu Santo has no chance of recovering when the authorities in charge of protected areas in Mexico, PROFEPA won’t prosecute fishermen blatantly fishing in the Nuclear Zone at La Lobera in the Espiritu Santo Island National Marine Park. This protected area is even a world Heritage site. Read More...

Espiritu Santo Marine Park in Trouble

The fisheries at Espiritu Santo Island and Los Islotes continue under daily assault by both commercial and sportsfishermen. Check out the posts below and you will see that without Vigilance (evenings and at night) the park including Los Islotes which is the number one tourism attraction and only reason to come to La Paz to dive will continue to die. An hour before dusk the boat EL SOL is scouting the nuclear zone of the biosphere around Lo Lobera to be sure all boats have left before spearfishing Read More...

No Dorado or Sailfish in the Sea

Panga longliners started about 1985 when 200 special permits were issued in Manzanillo for longlining shark. The by- catch of primarily sailfish and some dorado was over 95% of the total catch. At that time these pangas were landing between 150-200 tons of sailfish monthy into the Manzanillo markets. It was from these original 200 permits that the huge panga longline fleet of more than a thousand pangas rapidly developed. Read More...

Sea Watch and Al Jazeera

Watch this great video showing the destructive fishing practices in the sea. Sea Watch worked with Al Jazeera to expose these destructive fishing practices in Baja California Sur and the restoring of the fish populations. Watch it here...

Killing Fish with Hookah Now Outlawed

Pistoleros (night spearfishermen using hookah) and encerradores (daytime divers using hookah and driving reef fish into monofilament gill nets) are killing the Bay of La Paz. In the early 1990’s, while other methods of catching fish had rapidly declined night time spearfishing became the last productive method of killing large and profitable reef fish. Read More...

What Visiting Divers See at Los Islotes

Los Islotes (La Lobera) that unique place that still brings divers from all over the world to La Paz and that still allows monofilament gill nets to be placed in the Marine Reserve gives divers a chance to see Read More...

Why Sea Watch Helped Found and Support OC

The reason Sea Watch and others founded “OC” Observatorio Ciudadano in 2009 and has supported it since is that S.W. believes that the major problem with fisheries management in Mexico is the lack of a clear legal framework and virtually no vigilance or enforcement. As a result any attempts to protect fish stocks through MPA’s and Marine Reserves ends up providing Read More....

20 to 30 Tons of Reef Fish Killed Daily

Encerradores during the early years of this technique, around 2000-2005 cleaned out most of the reefs between La Paz and Loreto. There were up to 40 boats working. They would put their nets around the edge of the rocky reefs along the shore line and then drive fish into them by banging iron rebar onto the rocks and banging Read More...

What Return Divers Say About the Sea

Dear Undercurrent: I just returned from a far-north to far-south Sea of Cortez trip on the Rocio del Mar, which you covered in your October issue. My impression of the Rocio del Mar’s crew is similar to your author’s positive experiences. However, Read More...

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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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