Gulf of California

A once-in-a-lifetime whale encounter illustrates urgent need to keep waters healthy.

The world's most robust marine reserve is at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja peninsula, according to a new study.

On July 19, 2010, an interagency task force within the Obama administration issued final recommendations for a national ocean policy that would for the first time establish a coordinated system for managing America’s oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.  Implementing such a policy has been a top priority for WWF; initial recommendations were announced in 2009.

WWF, along with the Fundación Carlos Slim and the Mexican Federal Government, has launched an initiative that aims to establish Mexico as a global model for conservation by protecting its rich natural heritage and promoting sustainable development within six priority regions that collectively represent 30 percent of the country. 

In the Gulf of California's Bahia de Kino, WWF in collaboration with the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP) and Comunidad y Biodiversidad A.C. (COBI A.C.), a local environmental organization, works with local fishermen to establish sustainable fishing practices in the San Pedro Martir Island Biosphere Reserve. The reserve harbors an array of marine animals such as brown and blue-footed boobies, and is also home to one of the Gulf of California's largest sea lion colonies.

In May 2006, WWF staff flew over the Gulf of California during a 10-day exercise to count pangas (small fishing boats), fishing campsites and aquaculture ponds in order to assess current fishing efforts and compare results to 1998 data, as well as determine the extension of aquaculture activities in the region.