Removal of Ghost Nets to Save Sea Life in Bahía de los Ángeles, Baja California

A protected Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site

THANK YOU DONORS!

We have reached our goal of $12,000 to start the ghost net removal project in full force this month. Thank you for making this possible. Project updates soon!

While volunteering for the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP), it became abundantly clear that initiating a project to strategically remove ghost nets - abandoned or lost fishing nets that continue to kill marine life- would have the most bang for the buck for protecting sea life in the Bahía de los Ángeles Biosphere Reserve, one of the most productive and diverse marine ecosystems in the world. Together with several NGOs in Baja California, and with the federal managing agency, CONANP, we developed a proposal to initiate removal of ghost nets. The NGO Communidad y Biodiversidad will oversee and administer the project and the BDLA community group La Voz del Oceano will conduct the fieldwork. They are the same folks that conduct underwater monitoring, and have been certified for removing nets. CONANP will provide in-kind contributions of staff and an additional boat to assist the primary field crew as needed.

This project is fully endorsed by the Mexican government, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) , the local marine scuba-based monitoring group, and NGOs working on community conservation involvement, marine animal rescue, and marine habitat conservation.