The Midriff Island Shark Fishery

According to Conapesca it Never Happened...
It was Processing 50 Tons of Shark a Day at it’s Zenith in 1993

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. The last vast area of breeding sharks in the Sea of Cortez was killed in a single decade. 40% of the sharks killed were pregnant females and Conapesca said it never existed as there were no permits issued for it. Perhaps the story will teach us a lesson that might save another fishery from extinction. The lesson must be that there is vigilance and enforcement, if not by the non existent authorities who said, there was no fishery even though over 200 boats, many from the south of Mexico were working it, than by the people of Mexico and the world. Citizens must get involved.

Shed #1 Bahia San Francisco Shark Camp	Shed #1 Shark Fishery at Bahia San Francisco
Juvenile Mako caught in gill net, Santa Rosalia	Whale shark caught in net, cut up & meat dried

August 10, 2015

---

---

What's New at SeaWatch

---

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.

---

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...

---

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...

---

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...

---

Find SeaWatch On Facebook and You Tube