Leopard Grouper in Loreto

With the start of the management plan revision for Loreto Bay National Park I thought it would be good to post a link to this important paper on Leopard Grouper:

Viability Analysis of Reef Fish Populations Based on Limited Demographic Information

Despite the title this relatively straight forward scientific paper documents the condition of Leopard Grouper in Loreto Bay National Park. While the populations of fast growing, migratory, yellowtail, dorado, and sailfish appear to be maintaining decent populations and produce outstanding sport fishing opportunities, the inshore reef dwelling fish are vulnerable to sport fishing and are devastated by netting.

The new management plan needs to protect Leopard Grouper and other depressed populations from consumptive use. Its a perfect opportunity to experiment with no-take catch and release areas to provide for continued sport fishing - the economic base of Loreto, while rebuilding populations. Obviously, elimination of inshore gill netting in these depressed populations is key to preventing further declines.

Baja From Space

This photo was taken this week from Space Shuttle Mission 125 to the Hubble Telescope. Click on it to see the full sized version. The clouds really show the cool Pacific waters that extend from Tijuana to Magdelena Bay this time of year. As temperatures on the Gulf of California soar things on the Pacific side stay significantly cooler.

Rivers of a Lost Coast

I saw this movie last Saturday night in Ashland. I realize it is not about Baja but I was so moved by the film and its message is so powerful that I encourage everyone to see it.

Anyone who values great fishing or just appreciates the beauty and spectacle of anadromous fish should see the footage in this film from the 1950s on rivers like the Russian and San Lorenzo - formerly great steelhead runs now reduced to a faint shadow of what once was. Hopefully the call to protect and restore what we still have will resonate with audiences everywhere.

Special thanks to Will at the Ashland Fly Shop for hosting the event!

More on Loreto Management Plan

Pam from the Baja Big Fish Company provides the following information from Loreto Bay National Park regarding the planning process:

The following is an invite to the conservation sector of the park management plan revisions:

I hereby send you greetings. We write for two reasons: first, to present the final report of the first phase of consultation which is a "map" of the actors and relevant issues regarding the general objective of the Loreto Bay National Park.

The second reason is to invite you to participate in the second phase of the participatory process of the parks revision management plan. To begin, it consists of the first CONSERVATION sector reunion. The meeting is to review the Management Program of Loreto Bay National Park and will be held on Saturday May 16, from 9 am to 3 PM at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur Campus Loreto (Paseo Pedro Ugarte s / n Col. Missionaries zip code 23880) and we want you to join us for making this process an enriched one.

The objectives of the meeting are:

1. Validate the document with the actors
2. Obtain more proposals in order to elaborate the new management program
3. Begin to explore a possible representative for the whole Conservation sector.

After the first reunion, we will resort to a technical committee in order to present our CONSERVATION opinion on the legal and technical feasibility of the proposals that emerge from the sectorial meeting.

After the participatory process, a second sectorial meeting will be held in June where we will resume the results given by the technical committee, the proposals will be further reviewed, and we will start introducing the negotiation process. The third phase of the process has a negotiation workshop and a plenary session in July where all the sector proposals will be presented together. The last phase is a final plenary meeting in September where we intend to reach a final agreement for the new management program that will be used in the next five years.

For us and for the success of the process is very important to have your valuable presence at all stages and we hope to confirm your attendance at the first sectorial meeting in May. Please contact us for any information. Telephone: Mexico, 55 5286 6440, Loreto, 613 135 0477.

Email: lina@sociosmexico.org,
jportilla@colaboracioncivica.org,
emariano@conanp.gob.mx.

Thanks.

****************

These meetings are open to the public including visitors and foreign residents.

The sector meeting for commercial fishing is from 9am to 3pm at UABCS Loreto on thursday May 14th

The sector meeting for the sport fishing is from 9am to 3pm at UABCS Loreto on Friday May 15th.

Again the second phase of sector meetings will be in June. The final plan will be in place January 2010.

Loreto Bay National Marine Park to Write New Management Plan

This week the managers at Loreto Bay National Marine Park held public meetings to gather information as they begin writing a new management plan for the park. We will be following the process closely and providing input as the plan is developed.

Comenzó programa de manejo del Parque
Nacional

El Sudcaliforniano

11 de mayo de 2009

Raúl Villalobos Davis

Loreto, Baja California Sur.- Este sábado con una conferencia de prensa y reunión donde estuvieron diversos sectores relacionados con el Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto, dio inicio el proceso de revisión del programa de manejo de esta área natural protegida. Dicho evento estuvo presidido por el alcalde de Loreto, Yuan Yee Cunningham y el director del Parque, Everardo Mariano Meléndez, acompañados por representantes de diversas instituciones que se están involucrando en esta labor.

Uno de los principales puntos que se dieron a conocer es que dicho trabajo está dando inicio y este tendrá que ser una labor de todos los sectores de la sociedad, donde tendrán la oportunidad de participar con sus propuestas y puntos de vista, durante la presente semana están dando inicio una serie de reuniones con diversos sectores, como pescadores, habitantes de comunidades rurales, empresarios y desarrolladores turísticos, autoridades y en
general toda la ciudadanía, donde se habrá de exponer los diversos puntos de
vista rumbo a la conformación del programa de manejo o sobre las modificaciones
que se requieran.

De tal forma que el programa de manejo deberá contar con el consenso de los ciudadanos y reflejar las necesidades de todos, mediante un cuidado, manejo y aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales de manera sustentable.

Cabe mencionar que esta revisión del programa de manejo también servirá para dar a conocer si el mismo ha funcionado y cumplido con los objetivos para lo que fue creado, o bien existe la necesidad de prácticamente eliminarlo y hacerlo nuevo en su totalidad para bien de todos y principalmente para la salud del Parque Marino Nacional Bahía de Loreto. Este es un proceso donde todos debemos estar presentes y contribuir.

From the El Sudcaliforniano.

Taking the bus

Many Americans think travel on the bus in Mexico involves old, broken-down school buses crammed with sweating uncomfortable people and at least a few farm animals. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In Baja California fleets of modern, comfortable buses, many manufactured by Mercedes-Benz, cruise the highway. Movies are shown on computer screens that fold down from the ceiling and about every two hours they stop for a break at a station with food and drinks available.

The seats are large and comfortable with plenty of leg room - I'm a big guy and am comfortable. The buses are well air conditioned and sometimes chilly. Its good to bring a sweater or blanket especially for overnight trips.


One of the major lines is ABC. Their gigantic ABC Plus buses are a familiar sight to those who have traveled the high way. Their web page is in Spanish and a little confusing but usable. Note that they offer a 10% discount for round trip tickets and have a frequent traveler plan.