Howard Hall Productions
2171 La Amatista Road
Del Mar, California 92014-3031
858-259-8989
FAX 858-792-1467
HHP@howardhall.com

March 25, 2002

Mike McGettigan
Sea Watch
3939 N Marine Dr. #12
Portland, OR 97217

Dear Mike:

I found our March trip to Los Revillagegido Islands disturbing. During our two weeks diving at the islands, I saw only one shark at Socorro, six sharks at Partida, and no sharks at Benedicto. It can certainly be argued that the extraordinarily few number of sharks sighted during this expedition was the result of seasonal or migratory variation and I believe that this is true in part. I’m sure that during future expeditions, divers will see more sharks than we did due to this kind of seasonal or migratory variation. However, I am absolutely convinced that the primary reason we saw so few sharks was that commercial long-line fishing and drift gill net fishing have decimated the shark populations. The best evidence for this conviction is that, during our stay at Benedicto, we witnessed a Mexican commercial long-line fishing boat (The Bluefin) pulling its 70 mile long-line just two miles offshore from the island. Knowing how efficiently a commercial long-line boat can completely remove a population of sharks from a habitat, I immediately understood why we saw no sharks at Benedicto Island.

Sharks were not the only animals conspicuously absent at the Islands during our expedition. I saw only one wahoo, two yellowfin tuna, and surprisingly small numbers of schooling bigeye jacks. Ten years ago, when I last visited the islands, I saw schools of yellowfin tuna and bigeye jacks numbering in the thousands, and I saw dozens of wahoo hovering over offshore pinnacles.

During our expedition it became obvious to me that making a film that celebrates the spectacular numbers of large predators at the Revillagigedo Islands may not be practical. Commercial fishing pressure has already damaged the populations of predators there. Unless commercial long-line and gill net fishing laws restricting fishing near these islands are more effectively enforced, I fear there will soon be little left to film at the Revillagigedo Islands.

The good news is that the beautiful Pacific manta rays were still plentiful at Benedicto and Socorro. These wonderful animals still qualify the Revillagigedo Islands as a world class diving destination. But the population of mantas is also at risk. If illegal commercial drift gill net boats manage to avoid enforcement of existing laws or consider potential fines only the cost of doing business, the Revillagigedo manta rays could be wiped out in a matter of months. I’ve seen this happen before. In 1981 the Marisula Seamount in the Sea of Cortez was home to dozens of manta rays and the site was considered one of the best diving locations in the world. Then commercial gill net boats set their nets on the Seamount. After only a few weeks of fishing, the mantas were gone and they have never returned. I hope this doesn’t happen to the Revillagigedo manta rays.

Thank you for being the "eyes" that help enforce the fishing laws at the Revillagigedo Islands. With your help and with increased Mexican government commitment to enforcement of fishing laws, I hope the predators and mantas of the Islands can be saved.

Sincerely,

Howard Hall