BlueCommunities: La Paz, Mexico

BLUECOMMUNITIES

La Paz, Mexico

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA

ABOUT LA PAZ

La Paz is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. With over 244 islands and islets under UNESCO protection as as World Heritage Bio-Reserves and hundreds of paradisiacal balnearios (Latin American seaside resort towns), this municipality boasts a booming eco-tourism economy.

These islands and their surrounding waters were once called by legendary explorer and marine conservationist, Jacques Cousteau, as “The World’s Aquarium” because of its diversity.

Our local BlueCommunities ally is RESCATE DE LOBOS MARINOS, (Sea Lion Search and Rescue) a local NGO dedicated to the conservation of sea lions.

LOCAL GOALS

• Conservation and protection of sea lions

• Promote environmental education

• Promote sustainable communities

RELEVANT UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

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LOCAL PARTNERS

RESCATE DE LOBOS MARINOS is an NGO that aims to create a network that can attend to the cases of sea lion entanglement along the Baja California Peninsula and other areas of the country where colonies of these pinnipeds exist. To achieve this they provide training to different local groups formed by the corresponding local authorities, CONANP, PROFEPA and SEMARNAT, civil associations, private companies and volunteers that can carry out the work of disentanglement in each area.

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The team removing a fishing line from a sea lion's neck.

OUR PROJECTS

In association with Rescate de Lobos Marinos we’ll be focusing on the following efforts:

SEA LION RESCUES

They conduct a monthly monitoring and disentanglement of sea lions from netting and other discarded fishing gear in the Bay of La Paz. In November 2015, the first training workshop was held in La Paz using the remote sedation technique for the capture and disentanglement of sea lions.

Since that year they have conducted 12 campaigns in La Paz and one more in Isla Margarita; as well as collaborated in campaigns in Los Cabos and Puerto Peñasco, with a total of 25 sea lions released from the remains of nets and fishing lines.

SEA LION MONITORING

Constant monitoring of the main sea lion aggregation points in the Bay of La Paz. Monitor the general condition of the colonies, monitor their entanglement rate, and conduct censuses. This provides valuable information on the condition and behavior of entangled individuals, which helps to better plan capture strategies for each individual.

In addition to monitoring, as a Community Vigilance Committee subscribed to PROFEPA (the district attorney’s for the protection of the environment), they monitor that no illegal activities are carried out within the protected natural areas, and inform the authorities, with evidence, if there are any irregularities (illegal fishing, bad practices in tourist activities, etc).

RESEARCH

Sea lions are excellent bio-indicators of the health of the ecosystems they inhabit, so having information about their health status indirectly provides good information about their environment. By having census and behavioral data, plus access to sampling during capture and disentanglement, valuable information can be obtained and generate knowledge + education.

Different analyses are currently being carried out to understand the physiological processes triggered by gill netting.

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