Mexico’s Revillagigedo marine park is set to become the biggest marine protected area in North America! The current protected area will be extended to include more than 57,000 square miles (147,630 square kilometres) of the Pacific Ocean.
The announcement by Alejandro Del Mazo Maza (representing Mexico’s National Commission of Protected Natural Areas) at the Our Ocean Conference earlier this month is a fantastic boost for marine conservation.
The waters around Revillagigedo Islands were previously protected for a mere 6 miles (15.5 km) off land. This left sharks, rays, whales and other species vulnerable in this important feeding and migration area. The limited protection enabled fishermen to target these valued species (often illegally) or they would be caught as bycatch. The extended protected marine area’s regulations will aim to protect the habitat and marine life by ensuring that fishing, mining or other intensive resource development will not be allowed in the expanded marine reserve.
Enric Sala (who lead the Revillagigedo Pristine Seas fact-finding expedition in March 2016), said of his experiences “It’s one of the places where you can see the most giant manta rays and sharks on the planet.” He went on to share, “We saw lots of sharks, groupers, and tuna. It was a rare place of large fish, with biodiversity as if the Galápagos Islands had opened a branch in Mexico.”
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The announcement marks the 17th marine reserve that Sala and his Pristine Seas team have assisted in creating. Working together with governments from around the world they have been instrumental in establishing or extending marine reserves that cover approximately 2 millions square miles (5,180 000 square kilometres) of the ocean.
You too can dive these famed sites that Sala describes and swim with hammerhead sharks, mata rays and whale sharks. Contact our Dive The World sales team today and find out about liveaboard diving trips to the Revillagigedos and Galápagos Islands.
Contact Dive The World right away on +66 (0)94 582 7973 / (0)83 505 7794 or send us an email.