Cabo Pulmo National Park - A Marine Reserve

"The complexity of the life pattern on Pulmo Reef was even greater than at Cabo San Lucas. Clinging to the coral, growing on it, burrowing into it, was a teeming fauna. Every piece of the soft material broken off, skittered and pulsed with life, little crabs and worms and snails. One small piece of coral might conceal 30 or 40 species, and the colors on the reef were electric.”

-John Steinbeck,'The Log from the Sea of Cortez'.

Cabo Pulmo National Park was protected in 1995 to safeguard the largest coral reef in the Gulf of California. The area is home to an amazing reef system and is crucial to the feeding and breeding of an estimated 6000 species. The reef is the northern-most coral reef in the eastern Pacific and is one of only three coral reefs on the west coast of North America.

After Mexican President Zedillo declared the National Marine Park, the people of Cabo Pulmo organized a conservation group to promote the conservation of the natural resources of the park.

The health of the reef is of utmost importance to the people of Cabo Pulmo. They were instrumental in getting the park established. The Cabo Pulmo villagers continue to advocate for their waters. All fishing has been banned on the reef, making it a no-take marine reserve. Their vision of bringing the fish back has exceed the expectations of nearly everyone. Marine life, from 1999 to 2009, has increased by 460%. Unprecedented.

Cabo Pulmo's reef is now the only healthy reef left in the Gulf of California. It continues to attract divers from around the world. And fishermen, too, as the waters surrounding the park are filled with spillover fish from themarine reserve. The economy and and well being of the Cabo Pulmo village is also striving. As the saying goes...It takes a village.

Site Maintained and Updated by The Site Vamp, LLC