25 Mar 2014
History of Cabo Pulmo
Cabo Pulmo is located on the lower
southeast portion of the peninsula of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The town originated in the eighteenth century
when the first settlers were engaged in the extraction of mother of pearl.
As that market became overexploited, people
began commercial fishing, an occupation that supported my family and others
for over 100 years and 4 generations.
Back then Cabo Pulmo was a fishing camp with houses made of wood from
ships that had been driven onto the rocks by storms. There was great poverty because the fish
harvests that had once been so plentiful began to decline. The waters had been overfished and it was
necessary to go farther away from home to get harvests that were smaller or
nonexistent.
Judith Castro Lucero
In the early 1980s students and professors from the Autonomous
University of Baja California Sur began to visit the community and explain to
the fishing families the importance of the coral reef that existed just
offshore from our houses. We had always
thought of the reef as our garden where we could harvest food. They began to explain to us the importance
of the reef in terms of environmental services for all sea life in that
region. They pointed out the damage done to the reef by
anchors and heavy fishing around them. Over 10 years of working together with the college, we became slowly
convinced that it was necessary and urgent to start protecting this important
ecosystem.
My family together with others and with the
University decided to ask the Mexican government to decree Cabo Pulmo as a
protected area. On June 6, 1995 the
President of Mexico, Mr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León declared the waters of Cabo Pulmo as a
National Marine Park.
Judith Castro Lucero
Although we wanted the reef protected it
meant that we could no longer fish in the 7,111 acres of the Park, which
included all of the water bordering our town. Things were very difficult for our families
during the first four years because we had no alternative way to make a
living.
We began to look towards tourism to develop
businesses that would not damage the reef. Some of us who had been fisherman began to train as Dive Masters, others
opened restaurants, while others began to offer tours for snorkeling or sport
fishing outside the park. We changed
from being a fishing community to becoming a resort community and we continue
today to expand and improve the quality of the services we offer.
Judith Castro Lucero
While this is a great achievement for our
town, the most important accomplishment is what has occurred on the reef after 19 years of no extraction. In a study by
Octavio Aburto, a scientist at the Scripps Institute in San Diego, the biomass of sea life has increased over 460%, making the Cabo Pulmo National Park the
most recovered marine reserve in the world.
The success of the marine park is the
result of our commitment to make the Marine Park protect the reef and recover
fish populations. Former fishermen understood very well the need to
protect the reef and, because of that, we are very zealous guardians. Everyday we strive to be sure that rules are
followed and that there is no poaching in the park. It is this commitment of our village that has
led to this important conservation success.
We are very proud of this great achievement and
every day we strive to continue conserving more Cabo Pulmo reef and the quality
of life of people because we firmly believe that you can live with natural resources without damaging them.