About This Project

This project aims to survey a group of endangered humpback whales in an unexplored area of Mexico, provide local fishermen with a way to support themselves through education and support in the development of a responsible whale watch company and promote this unique, unprotected region as worth visiting and saving.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Advance Whale Science to Protect an Endangered Species:

No one has ever studied the humpback whales in the Bahia de Potosi, a bay just south of Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa. We will seek to match fluke prints with NOAA's Fluke Identification Catalog and establish how many cow/calf pairs are there, where they spend their time in the bay and how often the males travel between mating grounds throughout Mexico.

Support a Local Economy through Education and Ecologically Responsible Business Practices and Development:

We will work with and support local fishermen who are struggling to survive due to a depleted ocean by teaching them to become informed whale watch naturalists and citizen scientists.

Generate Awareness About Whales and the Rich Natural Attributes of the Area:

We will work with the NOAA Fluke Identification Catalog to match whale flukes (tails) with the known individuals which come to Mexico each year and share our findings with other whale research organizations.

We will host workshops and events about whales locally in order to inspire people to take action and care.

We will write articles and build websites about whale watching in the area, the project and the region in order to bring much needed tourists to the area.

We will add our findings about the whales to petitions to give the region nationally protected status.

What is the significance of this project?

Humpback whales are a magnificent endangered species worth protecting. The more we learn about them, the more amazing we realize they are. Knowing about whales makes people care and want to protect them.

I want to invite locals and visitors onto the water and to special events about humpback whales, conducted by scientists and the kind of teachers who turn kids into lifelong naturalists in order to create a culture of citizen scientists and ecological ambassadors.

The region and the waters are not protected under Mexican law and need to be. Recently, FONATUR, a cruise ship company considered building a port in front of the 600 person village, which would have destroyed the lagoon behind the village and devastated the land and lives of the villagers. Such threats will continue to arise as long as the area is unprotected.

Local fishermen report a steep decline in their catches. Many have turned to harvesting endangered sea turtle eggs from nearby beaches to sell and support their families. We need to find a way to let this pristine region support itself and the people who live there without depleting it.

We aim to establish a reputation for the area as a wildlife hotspot of importance and an established breeding ground for humpback whales. Our work will give locals jobs as naturalists and bring in tourists to observe the local wildlife in an educated, non-harmful manner and help the region to survive.

What are the goals of the project?

The funds will be used to bring four biologists and educators down to the area from Mexico and the US to run workshops and training. They will also provide employment for 2-3 fishermen to work with me as boat operators and whale researchers for 10 weeks, pay for gas, boats, equipment and cover my costs to stay and live for 10 weeks while I run the study in Mexico.

I will also build a website, design and print brochures about whale watching in Mexico, and disseminate them and optimize the website for web searches.

Additionally, I will write articles about the study, the whales, and the area and publish them in local and international magazines and newspapers after the study has ended.