How Mexico could protect 200,000 sq km of ocean

Industrial fishing for tuna, marlin, sardines and sharks around Baja California has stripped out much of the life that existed 80 years ago. Longliners and purse-seiners continue to threaten the fragile food chains of the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez – the Dos Mares (Two Seas). To create an MPA of this size – in a region inhibited by more than a million people, with seas that are heavily fished – it is crucial that local stakeholders understand and support the initiative, and believe it will result in a more prosperous future. 

Blue Marine’s local NGO partners, Orgcas, have collected a huge amount of scientific data to inform the justification of the MPA. Fishers and tourism operators in Baja have sent more than 300 official letters of support to the Ministry, and a new small-scale fisheries commission, DEPESCA, lobbies the government relentlessly. As of 2025, Baja’s artisanal shark-fishing communities have mostly transitioned to tourism and high–value markets for sustainably caught fish. This has taken enormous pressure off shark populations in the inshore.

 Negotiations are ongoing with government and local stakeholders to find an approved vision for the ‘aquarium of the world’ that promotes its equal and sustainable use. We continue to advocate with senior politicians and the state government, and garner stakeholder support for designation of the MPA.