The
Bay of Loreto National Marine Park was created
by a Presidential Decree and approved by the
Mexican Federal Congress in 1996. The Park
covers 2,000 square kilometres in the Sea of
Cortez ranging from Isla Coronado in the north
to Isla Catalina in the south. In 2005, the
Park was inscribed to the United Nations list
of protected World Heritage Sites.
The marine park owes its remarkable biological diversity to a combination of habitats, including salt marsh and mangrove wetlands, island archipelagos, eelgrass, algae beds and rocky reefs. Complex underwater ecosystems also favor the Sea of Cortez high productivity. An abundance of plankton allows for the existence of large schools of small fish such as sardines and anchovies that live close to the oceans surface. They, in turn, are sustenance for larger fish, marine mammals and huge populations of waterfowl.
The warm, sheltered waters of the Sea of Cortez are a natural nursery for a variety of breeding and spawning marine species. Majestic blue whales, displaced from all but a handful of their breeding grounds worldwide, calve in the Sea, along with fin, sperm, pilot and humpback whales. Loggerhead, black and green sea turtles nest along the Sea of Cortez coastlines. The islands of the sea are also important breeding grounds for sea lions and seals, as well as nesting and stopover sites for hundreds of species of resident and migratory birds.
Unique sea creatures such as giant manta rays, Mexican rockfish, Cortez angelfish and roughjaw frogfish also inhabit the Sea of Cortez. Endemic species include the totoaba fish and vaquita porpoise, both of which are classified as endangered. Deep open trenches and nutrient-rich shallow seabeds are home to fish like yellowtail, dorado, groupers, snappers and shrimp that are essential resources for fisheries.
In total, 35% of the world's marine mammal species, 60% of the world's species of cetaceans and approximately 800 species of fish are represented in the Loreto National Marine Park.
Today, few marine areas in the world are as biodiverse as the Gulf of California, a body of water Jacques Cousteau once labeled "the world's aquarium."
The marine park owes its remarkable biological diversity to a combination of habitats, including salt marsh and mangrove wetlands, island archipelagos, eelgrass, algae beds and rocky reefs. Complex underwater ecosystems also favor the Sea of Cortez high productivity. An abundance of plankton allows for the existence of large schools of small fish such as sardines and anchovies that live close to the oceans surface. They, in turn, are sustenance for larger fish, marine mammals and huge populations of waterfowl.
The warm, sheltered waters of the Sea of Cortez are a natural nursery for a variety of breeding and spawning marine species. Majestic blue whales, displaced from all but a handful of their breeding grounds worldwide, calve in the Sea, along with fin, sperm, pilot and humpback whales. Loggerhead, black and green sea turtles nest along the Sea of Cortez coastlines. The islands of the sea are also important breeding grounds for sea lions and seals, as well as nesting and stopover sites for hundreds of species of resident and migratory birds.
Unique sea creatures such as giant manta rays, Mexican rockfish, Cortez angelfish and roughjaw frogfish also inhabit the Sea of Cortez. Endemic species include the totoaba fish and vaquita porpoise, both of which are classified as endangered. Deep open trenches and nutrient-rich shallow seabeds are home to fish like yellowtail, dorado, groupers, snappers and shrimp that are essential resources for fisheries.
In total, 35% of the world's marine mammal species, 60% of the world's species of cetaceans and approximately 800 species of fish are represented in the Loreto National Marine Park.
Today, few marine areas in the world are as biodiverse as the Gulf of California, a body of water Jacques Cousteau once labeled "the world's aquarium."
Loreto: A Diver's(e) Paradise
