Photo of the Day: Rush Hour on the Reef - Mission Blue

December 13, 2012

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A photo taken by researcher and photographer Octavio Aburto in Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico.

Once degraded by overfishing, Cabo Pulmo has become the world’s most robust marine reserve. The Mexican government declared the area a National Park in 1995, and the local community has been enforcing the park’€™s regulations that prohibit commercial extraction activities in addition to any additional activity that may alter natural conditions. After 16 years, local people are enjoying more robust marine life and an increase in abundance of large top predator fish.

The park is now home to a high concentration of fish and is a refuge for migratory species like whale sharks, manta rays, humpback whales, and five of the world’€™s seven endangered species of sea turtle. Additionally, sightings of black tip reef sharks, tiger sharks, and bull sharks inside the Park have become common. With the world’€™s ocean in crisis, Cabo Pulmo is a refreshing success story of local conservation; more importantly, it is an example that supports the creation of marine reserves as a means to increase economic perspectives for coastal communities worldwide.

 

Click HERE to read a Q & A with Octavio Aburto and scroll through a gallery of other amazing photos in today’s Mission Blue feature!

Related posts:

An Ocean Miracle: Discovering the Hidden Jewel off the Coast of Baja California

Photo of the Day: David and Goliath

 

 

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