Boat Trip 10/18

It was a semi-calm day when we set out to sea in the panga on the 18th of October. We passed pelicans and terns as we were nearing Isla Datil. As we approached Isla Dalti we saw a pod of approximately 10-15 Common Bottle-nose Dolphin. We soon came upon of a flock of Booby’s foraging in the rich trench between Isla Tiburon and San Esteban. The currents in the trench are a vital part of the marine ecosystem because it creates an incredible upwelling of nutrients that attract many fish, such as sardines, anchovies and herring to come to the surface to forage. Below the diving birds were Long-beaked Common Dolphins that were taking advantage of the abundance of Chanidae and Clupidae. We estimated 200 dolphins on the surface and another 200 plus dolphins submerged. The Long-beaked dolphin seemed inquisitive of the boat and would come dangerously close. Fortunately, their accuracy is phenomenal and they know when to split from the boat. They played in the wake and along the sides of the boats gunnels, jumping in and out of the water. The experience attracted us for over an hour, and by then winds had picked up. We had another forty minutes ahead of us to reach our destination. The Panga bounced vigorously through the white caps and 25 knots winds. We had to abort our mission to San Esteban and find a safe place to snorkel closer to the mainland. We decided to visit Isla Tiburon. It was less windy and the current wasn’t so strong because of the inlet. We snorkeled for about an hour. We identified around 35 species of fish. Some classmates got the privilege to spot a Black Sea Turtle which is closely related to the green. By looking at pictures, I would estimate the turtle to be around 4 years of age and approximately 25 pounds. After we snorkeled Cosme’s, excellent trained eye captured an octopus to share with the class. The ride back was intense. I felt like I was once again doing my rescue diving in the Florida Keys during hurricane season. Everybody has a sore back or knees and we all got completely soaked. But, that is what you pay if you want to be marine biologist.

For the people that are interested in marine mammals I will distinguish between the two species that were identified today:

Common Bottlenose Dolphins are the most well known dolphins to humans. They are the most abundant dolphins seen in aquariums and other sort of attractions. Flipper was also a CBD (Common Bottlenose Dolphin) I’m sure everybody has a slight understanding of their characteristics. To get into more detail, there is variability between inshore CBD and offshore CBD. Off shore dolphins tend to be larger and also darker; the inshore dolphins are slightly smaller in size and lighter in color. Both however have wide heads and body along with a shorter beak when compared to other species. They also have counter shading characteristics (darker on top, lighter on bottom). This could be for camouflaging. When they are on the surface the light belly blends in with the sky, and when they are near the bottom, they tend to blend in with the ocean floor. That’s a quick and easy way to explain it. The CBD are cosmopolitan species that occur in oceans and peripheral seas at tropical and temperate latitudes (Pieter Folkens, 2002). They often favor coastal areas such as islands, atolls, bays, and estuaries. However, there is also a pelagic population that live far off shore.

The Long-beaked Common Dolphin
This Species has a variety of characteristics throughout different populations from variations of skull size, body size and fin size. They are smaller than the CBD weighing about 330 pounds. It is named after its long beak They display a great example of counter shading. The upper portion of the body is dark gray to black, with dark flippers. The LCD are typically found in near shore tropical and warm environments. They have been spotted all over the world such as, Venezuela, Argentina, west coast of Africa, etc

Yes, and if you are wondering what the red stuff floating around the water is, well, that would be the red tide.

Old Kino Bay

We were sent out to gather basic information on Kino Viejo. Lorayne wanted us to become familiar with the town, culture, fishing industry, economics and the environment. The town itself is a mixture of both urban and third world elements. Through our observations, we noticed that the town's economical survival depends on small scale fishing and tourism (46 %fishing and aquaculture and 43% convenient stores and craft stores). The tourists that visit Old Kino are mostly weekenders from Hermosillo. Aside from those residents involved with the fishing and tourism industry there are some retirees who call Old Kino their home. It was quite interesting to see 500,000 dollar homes on the beach that they probably purchased for 20,000 dollars in the 70’s or 80’s, and then across the street observe shacks seemingly pieced together from found materials. Fishermen were selling fish and shrimp right from the pangas. Some were selling seafood out of their homes or on the streets. It’s a good possibility they are not permitted to do so. They gave the Mexicans incredible deals and tried to scam us; as is the custom with tourists, quite a bit. A group of non-local (St. Felipe) fishermen offered to sell us 1 kilo of shrimp for 100 pesos, another group that were locals offered a kilo of shrimp for 60 pesos. Fishing regulations are not enforced, and this may be the biggest downfall of the industry. Kino Viejo fisheries are declining dramatically. This could be a result of the non-local shrimp trawlers as well. I will talk about the shrimp trawlers later as the course progresses. Prescott College strives to bring the fishing community together to talk about conservation.
We wandered on to the beach that was littered with sea shells, pelicans, sea gulls, dead fish, old decaying fishing nets and a lot of trash. We approached several fishermen that were super excited to talk to us. They were happy to answer any questions we had and allowed us to take several pictures. Two policia came up to the fishermen on 4 wheelers. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch that conversation. Through my observations, the most popular fish caught were flounder. In restaurants they were selling puffer fish and liza, which is mullet. As the Sea of Cortez is being fished out more and more everyday, fisherman are resolved to catching fish of a poorer quality.
There were dogs roaming the streets and eating rotten food. I am almost convinced that their digestive systems are more evolved than domestic dogs. The children all seemed happy. There was an organized all boy soccer game going on as well. I witnessed a lot of children playing soccer amongst themselves in the yard too. Strangely enough, there was a circus going on. I desperately want to visit the circus. I feel it will be very emotionally disturbing seeing how they treat the animals.

Punta Chueca

My first impression of Punta Cheuca was what I imagined a third world country to be like. The streets were literally covered in trash. There were blankets thrown down on the filthy streets, barbie dolls covered in mud, etc. I couldn’t believe my eyes; it was a major culture shock. I began to wonder why would a small little town that is so united do this to their home? I then began to realize that Americans do it too. Not in a sense of littering everywhere (although of course some people do), but in a sense of other things such as water. I guarantee they value water far more than we do. I try to be as conservative as possible, but I am a culprit of taking 20 minute showers. I could also promise that they are conservative especially when it comes down to food and other natural resources. However, the Seri Indians have been around for 4,000 years. All of the trash that I saw has been brought in and influenced by western countries such as the United States. Before plastic was invented and brought into their culture, children would play with sea shells, rocks, sticks, and other organic materials. After they were done they would simply through it on the ground and play with something else.
Another quick observation I saw was very nice vehicles, mostly expensive SUV’s. Classmates jumped to the conclusion that they valued vehicles more so then their other belongings. I personally believe that their vehicles are an important and necessary item. From Punta Chueca to Kino Bay is about a 50 minute drive down a terribly bumpy road. They need long lasting vehicles to get around. Most of the vehicles did not have license plates, and from a good resource, they were all probably stolen. This brings up another important culture issue. The Seri’s were once nomadic people. They would travel to a place use up all of the resources and move on. As they would travel they would take whatever they needed, I am referring to organic items. And now they just take what they need and move on.
I felt unwanted at the village. I was pressured quite often to purchase crafts that they hand make without tools. They are quite beautiful as well. They were also selling weaved baskets, necklaces made out of shells gathered by beach combers. I am extremely low on cash and I was refusing every offer. I felt bad as if I were intruding and not showing my respect by supporting their economy. I did purchase one thing which costs me my every last peso I had (150 pesos). So I am not criticized on behalf of my purchase I must briefly explain the relationship between sea turtles and the Seri’s.
All the seven and 1 sub-species of sea turtles are endangered world wide. They were most commonly hunted for their meat and their shells. Hunters also poach their eggs to sell overseas used as an aphrodisiac. The Seri’s provide informative knowledge in sea turtle conservation. The Seri’s have a very sacred relationship with the sea turtles that inhabit the Sea of Cortez. It has even been said that they sing to the turtle to bring them in (Winona LaDuke, 2003). Once upon a time they held annual ceremonies for the sea turtles, but went years without seeing a single one. Today, they are allowed to kill a sea turtle for ceremonial purposes. There are a lot of critics that believe they should not be allowed to do so, ironically these people are from western countries, primarily the United States, that have little to no relationship or knowledge about Seri traditions. I personally respect and admire the magical ceremonies that they hold and do not criticize them for doing so. So, moving on to what I purchased. After refusing many beautiful gifts from mostly Seri women, I met Alfredo who is a respected elder in the community. He made a ring from a scute (segments of the turtle shell) of a Hawksbill. I picked it up from the table and immediately felt a beautiful connection. When I placed the ring on my finger I felt a surge of energy. My entire mood shifted into a calming phase and released the fear that existed in me from the initial culture shock. It was a really beautiful moment that I am extremely privileged to have experienced.

First Boat Trip

Our first day out on the water was exciting! It was an introduction to the entire course. We got to examine basic topics that we we’ll learn more about in detail. Some of the topics were different fisheries and techniques, ecology of islands, aquaculture, ecology, policy and marine issues. We traveled in “pangas”, in English this means boat; they can hold up to 16-20 people. The local fisherman also uses pangas. On our way to Isla Alcatraz, we observed many pangas in the water fishing for different things. Most were catching Blue Shrimp, which the season just started a couple week ago on September 18th. Others were catching Blue Swimming Crab by traps and buoys made from old plastic bottles or blocks of Styrofoam. Most of the boats are 3-4 meters in length and consist of a crew of 1-3.

The course focuses a lot on the local fisheries, for there is a lot of controversy between them and outside fisherman that are primarily 30-40 meter shrimp trawlers. Our boat captain Cosme was born and raised in Kino Bay. He also has his own fishing boats and a crew. He was able to share valuable knowledge with us that you couldn’t find in a text book. As we were passing all the pangas, he was pointing out his friends, family, and he own personal pangas. The fishing community is very united in Kino. Everybody knows everybody. We pulled up to his brothers boat, and they seemed very excited and happy to talk to us. The translation for me is very difficult so I didn’t gather much of the conversation except for “Blue Shrimp”. Cosme asked them to throw us some shrimp and they generously threw us a couple dozen of their hard earn catch.

Moving on we circled around Island Alcatraz. We observed sea lions on their backs with their flippers up above the water warming their selves in the sun. We also observed Yellow-footed Gulls, Herman Gulls, Double Crested Cormorants, Great Blue Heron, Brown Pelican, Frigate, Blue and Brown Boobies, Black Vulture, Osprey, and a Humming bird (species unknown). Once we landed we had a short tour of the island to view the nesting cormorants. It is a little early in the season so there were only a few dozen getting ready for their excited parenthood. The peak season for nesting cormorants is December and January. Another exciting fact is that Isla Alcatraz has the highest number of nesting cormorants, 1100 pairs. Cormorants are a very unique bird. For the consistency of their nesting numbers on the island, they seem not to be effected by El Nino and other natural causes. Isla Alcatraz also hosts another 10 species of nesting birds.

Prescott College wrote the environmental plan for this island which was a great success and accomplishment. This project took several dedicated students, instructors, biologist, and other outside resources. The project consisted of 3 phases:
Survey of the geography and flora and fauna. On this particular island you can find Cardones, salt bush, wolfberry, and pickle weed. It is an interesting island because is has several different environments such as, beaches, salts flats, mosaic of costal shrub, high elevation, sharp and gentle slopes. As you can imagine if provides many niches for many different organisms.
Survey of human impacts and activity. Local fisherman use this island to come to shore to de-head their shrimp catch and also families would come to visit and primarily stay on the beach and not explore into the shrubs where the birds are nesting. In conclusion it didn’t seem that there weren’t any disturbances caused from human influences.
Educational component. This was started by the fellows (two Mexicans employed by Prescott College). They teach ecology at the local schools and bring the children out to the islands for field trips.
After all the research was done they submitted it to the national protection agency and it was accepted. Much more has gone into this project, more than I can explain. However if you do have any questions please feel free to ask.

After our lovely tour we me headed towards the main land to snorkel. Although snorkeling was unsuccessful, probably due to the aquaculture plant being near, we lunch on the beach where I was threatened by my gigantic bull sea lion (this would have been a good opportunity to see somebody run on water). There was also a beautiful osprey nest where I tried to poach some eggs, but unfortunately it wasn’t the season. (please note that was sarcasm). This concludes my day.

Marine Conservation

I am currently attending Prescott College studying education in Environmental and Marine Science. I spend a good portion of my time in Kino Bay where Prescott College has a research base. This blog is designed to document my experience during my studies in Marine Conservation. The course is a collaboration of three classes: Global Marine Issues, we will develop an understanding physical environment in which will be living (Kino Bay, Mexico). This will include landscape, oceans, islands, cultures, policy, economics e, along with environmental issues such as pollution, tourism, habitat restoration. The second part of the course i titled Gulf of Mexico Conservation Case Studies, we will then observe regional case studies pertaining to the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of Mexico). We will examine difference fishing techniques while speaking to fisherman and working on a shrimp trawler monitoring bi-catch, and aquacultures and so forth. Lastly is Applied Conservation Research, we will be examining specific conservation projects and efforts. We will be working on conservation projects as well with proposals. We will also have the opportunity to work management agencies, scientists, educators, and local resources. Through this blog I am excited to spread my love, passion and knowledge to who ever is interested