Consume Responsibly

Take pride in Espiritu Santo National Park and help protect it by avoiding eating the species of fish important to the health of the park such as reef critical parrotfish and surgeon fish.

Parrotfish, a keystone reef species are voracious herbivores that spend up to 90% of their day nibbling algae off reefs with their beak-like teeth. Parrotfish play a significant role in keeping the various types of natually occuring algae in balance with the reef ecosystem. And they poop sand (up to 200 pounds of it per year!). Removal of too many of these fish in any given area has been shown to result in algae growing over the coral, starving it of life.

Whilst selling and consuming parrotfish is perfectly legal in Mexico, it is deemed impossible to extract them on a commercial scale without using illegal methods such as netting inshore reefs or using compressed air and spear guns or poles to extract the fish, the latter being an activity that often occurs at night while the parrotfish rest in rocky crevices.

Most major La Paz supermarkets (including Chedraui and Walmart) have committed to stop selling parrotfish in their stores and many La Paz restaurants have committed to stop serving parrotfish.

Join the fight to restore a healthy Sea of Cortez and consume responsibly.

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What's New at SeaWatch:

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. While it is critically important to ban traps Read More...

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SeaWatch Annual Raffle

Scott Hanson donated his popular 19" bronze limited edition sculpture "Smooth Sailing" to SeaWatch. Tickets were $50 for one ticket or five tickets for $200. Only 150 ticketswere sold. The drawing was held when the 150 tickets were sold or on February 28, 2022.

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2021 SeaWatch Newsletter

Protect parrotfish, eliminate traps, nets and create a 1 km "NO TAKE" zone around Espiritu Santo national Park. In 2021, we hired environmental attorney Camilo Thompson (who lead the effort in getting parrotfish protected on the Caribbean side of Mexico) to team up with “Espiritu Santo is Parte de ti” to adopt the following campaign goal for Espíritu Santo and to file all petitions and proposals before deadlines Read More...

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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...

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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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