Barren Reefs

See Why the Reefs Around La Paz, BCS
are Barren, Dirty and Without Fish or Soft Corals

The following videos show the barren reefs around the lower gulf islands in the Sea of Cortez and explain what happened. These 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 around La Paz are no more than dirty algae covered rocks with no soft corals and no fish.

The reefs are without fish in general and in particular the two critical fish needed for healthy reefs, Parrotfish and Surgeon fish that eat the algae and in the process scrape off the dirt that covers the rocks. The main reason the reefs are without fish is due to two types of illegal fishing: pistoleros and encerradores. See the video below to really understand the damage they have done. It started in the mid 1990’s.

These practices are now illegal as a result of a new regulation recently published in DOF (Diario Oficial). The new regulation added in norma 064 bans nationally the use of hookah and any form of compressed air for fish extraction. SeaWatch, Director and attorney Maria Ugarte, in 2009 sponsored and got a new federal regulation in Norma 064 passed prohibiting the use of hookah or any source of compressed air for fish extraction. While in effect since 2009 in BCS it took the Federal Government until Feburary 2015 to publish it in the DOF.

No compressed air for fish extraction.

November 11, 2015

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What's New at SeaWatch

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SeaWatch Annual Holiday Raffle

This year's annual holiday raffle in support of our SeaWatch projects featured this beautiful, limited edition bronze sculpture, called Making Waves, donated by Scott Hanson.

This is one of Scott's most popular sculptures and and sold in major galleries for $7200.00.

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SeaWatch Year End Raffle

The lucky winner is Gordon Harris! Scott Hanson donated his popular “Winter Song” sculpture to SeaWatch for our year-end raffle. This beautiful sculpture was raffled in January. We thank you for your support of the raffle and look forward to your support and the success of future raffles. Money raised helped SeaWatch fund the organizations vital to the recovery of the Sea of Cortez. Watch the video of Scott Hanson here...

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Espiritu Santo es parte de ti
Featured in Conservation Watch Magazine

Conservation Watch Magazine Is published by the Garden Club of America's conservation committee members. It's a quarterly online newsletter featuring conservation and environmental news. SeaWatch is proud of the campaign we originated and support Espiritu Santo es parte de ti (Espiritu Santo is part of you) and their feature article in this magazine. Read the article...

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Gillnetting Protected Mobula Rays
See This Recent Video and Act Today

The Mobula Rays are a joy to watch as these expert acrobats jump, twirl and belly flop through the sea. The Sea of Cortez is the world's premium destination for viewing the largest schools in the world, sometimes exceeding 10,000 individuals. They are seasonal visitors and visit Baja in May-July and November - January. These rays are protected by Mexican Law Read More...

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