Hot Issues

2009 Year in Review

Dec 28, 2009

Happy Holidays and thanks for your support in 2009.

2009 was a good year for the Bay of La Paz area of the Sea of Cortez

For 10 years, hookah divers have been killing the reef fish in the Sea of Cortez. By 2007 there were few fish left. In 2007 Sea Watch sponsored a federal regulation “prohibiting hookah use for fish extraction in all Mexican waters”. It was enacted in early 2009. Watch Video of the destruction

Sea Watch worked to develop, train and fund vigilance patrols with Plataforma a multi sector citizens group from La Paz. The patrols started in June of 2009 and have been very successful. Read More About

Illegal fishing in the Bay of La Paz and the surrounding area has been dramatically reduced . Of the 22 boats identified as working illegally with hookah in the Bay of La Paz at the start of 2009 and taking approximately 3-5 tons of reef fish daily, the vigilance patrols currently can find none.

It’s now measurable! After five months of patrols there are now more fish on the reefs around the Bay of La Paz and the surrounding areas. See Gallery

If you did or didn’t help out in 2009, make a donation in 2010 that will make a measurable difference to reef fish in the Sea of Cortez . For a cost of $1500 per week the patrols cover over 120 miles of coast line and 7 gulf Islands between Santa Cruz Island to the north and Cerralvo Island to the south.