Photo- Mako Shark, Edgar Becerril García,
Boasting up to 35 species of sharks – pilot sharks, whale
sharks, angel sharks, sharpnose sharsk, Mako sharks to name but a few - the Bay of La Paz is truly recognised
as an underwater wonder of the world.
And from the early 80’s to the mid 90’s it was the world’s
premier diving destination for schools of hammerhead sharks. Where divers could
see schools of up to 500 hammerheads at a time.
Sadly this is no longer the case. Nowadays divers usually
spot no more than 2 or 3 at a time. Or very occasionally small schools of up to
only 30 hammerheads.
Marine Biologist, Edgar Becerril García, warns that the
situation is serious and most likely due to overfishing by panga -gill netters and
panga long-liners. Of course fisherman have permits to fish with these nets. But
they don’t have permits to fish for the baby hammerhead sharks that get caught
in them.
Add to this the fact that hammerheads, despite being an
internationally protected species, don’t have any special protection in Mexico.
Hence the huge decline in stocks. Becerril García believes it is not too late
to reverse this decline but the clock is ticking.
“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 very simple fisheries and tourist management, La Paz can
reclaim the sustainable economic value that comes with the nearly magical
attraction of diving with these magnificent and unique sharks.”
Let’s not forget that Mexico has already proven itself a
world leader in recognizing its valuable environmental resources, moving
swiftly to protect and restore them. Just one example is the incredible success
of nearby juvenile gray whale nursery at El
Vizcaino, BCS.
It is in Mexico’s interest to protect the nursing grounds of
El Bajo and encourage the repopulation of the very animals that first made La
Paz famous in the world's diving community back in the 1970’s.