EcoWatch
25
Destruction of One of the Seven
Underwater Wonders Imminent
Fishermen are Using Gillnets to Kill Hundreds (if Not Thousands)
of Hammerhead Shark Pups in the Bay of La Paz »»»
By Johnny Friday
Known to divers around the world as El Bajo, this infamous seamount located on the
fringe of La Paz Bay is where Dr. Peter Klimley first discovered schooling hammerhead
sharks in the 1970’s. The first underwater images of this amazing phenomenon were
filmed here by filmmakers Stan Waterman and Howard Hall in the early 1980’s.
OVER THE NEXT TWO DECADES,
El Bajo became the premier destination in
the world for divers seeking to encounter
schooling hammerhead sharks was recognized
as a “top five” international dive site
and became an underwater wonder of the
world. Suddenly, in the mid- 1990’s the
shark schools became smaller - some
thought the sharks had just stopped
migrating here. One theory for the disappearance
blamed the pressure of gillnetting
in the Sea of Cortez and shark fishermen
specifically targeting hammerhead sharks
in the open Sea. My theory, although not
yet based on detailed empirical studies,
reveals the more likely culprit.
I’ve known about the juvenile shark
fishery in the Bay of La Paz since 2002
when Mike McGettigan of Seawatch told
me about it. I had yet to see it first hand
until a few weeks ago. However, I have
often seen the remnants of baby hammerhead
fins and heads on El Mogote beach,
but nothing in any disturbing quantities,
nor had I seen any commercial panga
fishermen on the beaches cleaning their
shark catch. Having spent over six years
filming just about every illegal fishing
practice from gillnetting and long-lining to
commercial spear-fishermen using
“hookah”, I have seen my fair share of devastation.
However, nothing could have
prepared me for this absolutely wasteful
and senseless destruction of newborn hammerhead
and whitenose sharks.
The Bay of La Paz and El Mogote (the
sand peninsula in front of the city of La
Paz) are a perfect sanctuary for these
newborn sharks. It is a nursery, a safe haven
devoid of predators and high in food concentrations
that fuel the newborn sharks as
they struggle to reach maturity. Due to the
biological and geographical characteristics
of the Bay, the region is ideal for several
shark species, including the whale shark
which utilizes these waters to drop their
young and allow them to thrive within the
nutrient rich waters. Little is known of the
nursing grounds in La Paz, but empirical
data suggests that this is an important
pupping area for these two species of
sharks as well as the whale shark.
Fish for the markets in Baja are
becoming increasingly more difficult to
catch and commercial fishermen must
travel further, longer and use more fuel. For
many, there is no economic benefit to
fishing these distant fishing grounds.
Hence, a number of commercial fishermen
in La Paz have taken to setting gillnets
within the outer bay (the shark nursery)
during the winter months when the
newborn sharks are present, knowing they
will fill their nets with these small sharks
which have very little commercial value.
According to one shark fisherman, there are
approximately twenty pangas that specifically
set gillnets and target these sharks.
Typically, the shark fishermen set their
gillnets and come back within 3-4 days to
pull them up. Then they take their pangas
and catch to the outer beaches of El Mogote
where they are less likely to be seen and
clean their catch. Frequently on windy days,
they must return to the inner Bay of La Paz
and clean their catch on the inside beaches
of El Mogote. They try to avoid this as much
as possible for fear of photos and confrontations
with passersby. Although many of
them have permits to fish using gillnets,
many (if not all) do not have permits to fish
sharks. On an average day, each panga can
haul in upwards of a hundred or more
sharks. On this particular day, with only one
panga and one gillnet, one fisherman was
able to kill over one hundred and thirty
juvenile sharks of which over ninety percent
were hammerhead sharks.
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Although El Mogote and the Bay of La
Paz receive protection from bottom
dragging vessels, it does not receive the
same protection from panga-based gillnetters
and long-lingers. One can only
imagine the economic benefits of protecting
El Mogote and the Bay of La Paz from
gill-netting. Today, La Paz does not even
rate in the top twenty dive locations. Divers
and dive clubs now travel to other locations
such as Costa Rica and the Galapagos
islands where sharks receive protection and
divers spend their dollars.
Is there a chance for hammerhead sharks
to recover in La Paz? Absolutely, it is not too
late, but the clock is ticking fast. If panga gillnetters
are left to continue their plunder of
baby sharks in the Bay of La Paz, then these
animals do not stand a chance nor will divers
and eco-tourists continue to travel to La Paz
to see them and infuse needed tourism
dollars into the local economy. It is a colossal
economic and ethical mistake to allow a
small group of fishermen to continue to
decimate present and future generations of
hammerhead sharks.
Mexico has proven itself a world
leader in recognizing its valuable environmental
resources, moving swiftly to
protect and restore them. It is in Mexico’s
best interest to protect these nursing
grounds and support the protection of
the very animals that made La Paz
famous amongst the worlds’ diving communities.
There are only a few known
places in the world that can lay claim to
having a hammerhead shark nursery in
their back yard. La Paz is one
of them. With simple
fisheries management
and enforcement, the
protection and preservation
of this once
magical location and
tourist attraction stands a
chance of regaining its economical
value while also protecting the
future of this magnificent and unique
shark we know as the Hammerhead.
Now Mexico must move boldly to
protect one of the world’s most remarkable
sharks. The future of these “world famous”
hammerhead sharks of El Bajo is
dependent on the rare and fragile shark
nursery in the Bay of La Paz.
©2008 John Friday and Baja Productions
www.bajaecotours.com
Contact SeaWatch @ www.seawatch.org
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