Whale Deaths Hurt Tourism
Is Mexico a friend of the whales? It claims to be the world’s largest national “Whale Sanctuary”. In 2002, the office of Mexican President Vicente Fox said the “Area of Refuge” accord would provide added protection to the 39 whale species that spend time in Mexican waters, but drift gillnets keep killing them.
November 2008 trip to the past, when the ocean was full of fish:
Please enjoy the photographs taken by world-class photographers; Brandon Cole, Randy Morse and Doug Perrine.
They are a reminder of what the Sea of Cortes once was.
Shark Norma 029 Continues To Kill Protected Species
Another example of the destruction wrought by Shark Norma 029, a turtle caught in longline gear 18 mile off Cabo. Shark Norma 029 which allows this non selective longline gear to within 15 miles of shore continues to kill the sea life inside the 1000 fathom curve, the habitat for most stripped marlin, turtles, whales, sea birds and other fish reserved for sports fishing.
Pistoleros are Killing the bay
Pistoleros are killing the Bay of La Paz. About 6 years ago, while other methods of catching fish had rapidly declined night time spearfishing became the last productive method of killing large and profitable reef fish. 25 to 40 boats kill 3-5 tons of reef fish daily, that’s over 1000 TONS EACH YEAR. (Narrated in English) Read more
The Bay of La Paz is a primary breeding ground and rearing ground for hammerhead and giant whale sharks and also a bay that fills with humpback whales during the winter migratory season. Yet, it is filled with gillnets and has other major problems outlined on this site.
La Paz is the center of the conservation efforts in the Sea of Cortez. If we can’t stop the most basic and destructive fishing practices here, one has to question the ability to do it in the rest of the sea.
Dear Friends,
There are two major problem areas that are causing the continued fisheries destruction in the Sea of Cortez.
The first concerns PELAGIC FISH and the indiscriminate use of longlines and drift gill nets. By law, sports fish, such as billfish and dorado are protected within 50 miles of the coastline, yet a new regulation (Shark Norma 029) has allowed these two destructive and indiscriminate fishing methods to move into the Sea of Cortez and to within 15 miles of the coastline. Longlines and drift gillnets now actually target these protected sports fish.
The second destructive fishery targets all REEF FISH and became the most efficient way to destroy the last of the reef fish several years ago. It utilizes hookah divers who put nets on the reef and drive fish into them doing the day and another set of divers using harpoons at night to kill sleeping reef fish (Video) Sea Watch has chosen to focus its efforts on stopping the destruction of reef fish in the Sea of Cortez by getting legislation passed banning hookah and helping develop a vigilance and enforcement arm that is overseen by the civil society.
Sincerely,
Mike McGettigan, Founder, Seawatch
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