New megacruceros project threatens the world’s largest fish in Baja California Sur

Environmental organizations raise the government of that state located in northwest Mexico that this agreement, originally signed in 2021 between the parastatal Integral Port Administration of Baja California Sur (API BCS) and the private company Aquamayan Adventurebe canceled. This agreement gives a part of the Pichilingue port and allows the arrival of megacruceros to the Bay of La Paz.

The agreement that had been dismissed at the time for breaches to environmental regulations, was resumed and modified at the end of 2024, and now authorizes the private company to use 33,500 square meters of the port where it will build a tourist and commercial complex that will include Gastronomic areas, commercial and recreational spaces, and even a desalination plant. The objective is to attract at least 150,000 megacruceros passengers annually. This quadruple figure the cruise members received in 2023 and is equivalent to 60 % of the fixed population of the city of La Paz.

“Surprisingly we find this agreement signed between the State and the company, and we see that the Government is promoting the project, literally launching this very predatory extractive tourism model, based on megacrucians,” he says, he says Carlos Mancilladirector of Bcsicleenvironmental organization that promotes the campaign “Long live the Bay of Peace!” and a virtual collection of signatures to deliver to Governor Víctor Castro Cosío.

The demand is the prohibition of this and any other project that implies the arrival of megacruceros in the area. According to BCSy’s, these projects seriously threaten the ecosystem and society, because these large tourist boats generate huge amounts of waste and pollution, while demanding energy, water and space in an area of ​​high sensitivity and environmental environmental vulnerability .

“This issue generated very large social mobilization in 2021 and the community stated that the Bay of Peace is not a parking lot for megacruceros,” adds Mancilla. “Now, unfortunately, the authorities, in conjunction with the private sector, are wanting not only to be a parking lot, but also all the dynamics associated with it also happen,” he says.

The negative impacts are extensive and well documented, says Mancilla. They go from the Environmentalby putting at risk marine species and sensitive ecosystems; the socialgenerating large amounts of garbage and requiring infrastructure that the bay cannot bear and with which the city does not count; the economicthey would affect people who depend on riverside and ecotourism fishing; as well as the urbanby promoting gentrification and urban inequalities, making life and access to basic services for local residents more expensive, says Mancilla.

A key ecosystem for the whale shark

The peace bay is a place of impressive marine biodiversity. It is an ecosystems possessor ranging from coral reef to cold water habitats, all high productivity. This region is key to the migration, winter and reproduction of at least 160 species of aquatic birds. It also houses 32 % of the species of cetaceans of the world – of phones, whales and sperm whales – and is an important refuge for the Ballena Shark, which has a predilection for its warm waters, as they provide protection and food between autumn and spring.

With its 12 meters average of length, This species is considered the largest fish in the world and is included in Appendix II of the list of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Wild Fauna (CITES), the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and in the category of threatened in the Official Mexican Standard.

According to the report “Inside in paradise: megacruceros anchored in the Bay of La Paz, BCS, Mexico” – published in 2021 by the Northwest Biological Research Center (CIBNOR) and allied researchers who analyzed that situation – a estimated one population between 125 and 129 copies of whale shark per season in that area and suggests a total population of 1700 individuals throughout the Gulf of California.

According to the authors, in the past it was common to see them less than ten minutes of navigation from the Malecon of the Bay of La Paz, which motivated decades of investigation and the eventual creation of the refuge area of ​​the Whale Shark, decreed on November 29 2018 to protect your habitat.

However, after the arrival of Megacruceros in December 2020, the sightings were drastically reduced. By April 2021, Whale sharks were no longer in their usual placeswhich forced to navigate more than an hour to find them. Experts indicate a combination of possible factors: the noise of engines and turbines running 24 hours in the huge vessels, light pollution and water pollution that could affect the plankton that the species is fed.

“The resilience capacity of the area is reduced because there is no very strong waves due to the dunes that protect it, therefore, pollutants remain for a long time,” describes Carlos Mancilla. “A megacrucerro requires an average of 110 00 liters of fuel daily – they use combustum or liquefied natural gas that comes from aggressive fracking processes for nature -, so that emissions of toxic gases mean almost the same amount as between 10,000 and 30 000 cars, ”says the activist.

All this shortened the sighting season, which usually closed in May, and that in addition to ecological impacts, caused significant economic losses for local families that depend on this activity.

“The whale shark comes here, it is one of its iconic sites worldwide and it is one of the most special aggregations because it is very close to a city,” he explains Frida LaraSpecialist in Marine Species and Scientific Coordinator of Orcgas. “To exemplify, in the case of Galapagos – which has another well -known aggregation – You have to travel on a ship that costs $ 10,000 to be able to see a whale shark”, Says Lara.

The expert adds that The probability of collisions is one of the most important threats For species like this. A study published in July 2024 confirmed it: next to the Arabic Sea and its adjacent waters, as well as the southeast and east of Asia, Both the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of California, face the greatest risk of collision between the Ballena shark and the large vessels.

“Impacting the Bay of Peace means opposite effects for the whale shark, the giant blanket and whales,” says Lara. “If it is already proven, with a lot of scientific information, that this site is a critical habitat for these species, why is it determined that it is viable to accept a project of these characteristics?” The specialist questions.

And research efforts continue. This 2025, a team of scientists led by the biologist Fabián Missael Rodríguez seeks Information gaps and improve conservation actions based on scientific evidence.

Lack of transparency

The port of Pichilingue is now surrounded by a wall. Jorge del Ángelbiologist and president of the Southcalifornian academic group, describes that the progress of the works could before be seen, but now all that has been hidden.

“Normally, when you passed the beaches, you could see if there were modifications or alterations in the port of Pichilingue. You can no longer observe this. That makes it even more difficult to convince people that they are acting irregularly, ”says the specialist.

Currently, says Jorge del Ángel, the city of La Paz and his bay are facing a “bombing” of projects that go hand in hand, above all, of the real estate industry. Although society is increasingly organized, the problems are so many that it is extremely unpacking to pay attention to all.

“Cruises are one of the problems, but right now it is not even the most worrying for people, because there has been a bombing of projects and we are constantly defending ourselves against one or the other. In addition, many of these projects have complicity – I think this is the word – of local authorities and is even worse, ”says the biologist.

Your Day He sought the Integral Port Administration of Baja California Sur to know his version, however, he did not get an answer. For its part, the Aquamayan Adventure company does not have public communication channels.

“What we are looking for are two things: the first is transparency,” says Jorge del Ángel. “That is, it is necessary that we all understand – both rulers as citizenship – what is the process of verification of compliance with all international standards to which these vessels are supposed to be held.”

Second, the specialist adds, is to establish baselines through research. To do this, a project focused on the detection of hydrocarbons through citizen science is being worked on the Sudcalifornian academics. “That is, that local tourist operators, fishermen, organizations and people who have contact with the sea, participate,” explains the researcher. “The idea is that, on a regular basis, water samples can be taken and we can monitor pollutant levels. We need this basic information to say how serious the problem is. ”

According to the specialist, the current case of mass tourist in the Bay of La Paz, is just one of those that are coming for the Gulf of California. “We are basically the spearhead; They are testing with us to see how they are doing, ”he concludes. “Of course we have to fight because, otherwise, we risk that they implement this same model in the rest of the Gulf ports, which are also very vulnerable areas.”