New Marine Protected Areas Declared in Mexico

Three new preserves will protect 795,000 acres of Mexico's oceans

COZUMEL, QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO — June 2009— As part of World Environment Day celebrations hosted this year by Mexico, President Felipe Calderón announced the creation of three new marine protected areas, including Mexico’s first deep sea marine protected area. The Guaymas Basin and Eastern Pacific Rise Hydrothermal Vents Sanctuary, the Lobos-Tuxpan Reef System Flora and Fauna Protected Area, and the Whale Shark Biosphere Reserve will together help protect 795,000 acres of Mexico’s oceans.

The Guaymas Basin and Eastern Pacific Rise Hydrothermal Vents Sanctuary will actually protect 360,000 acres of benthic (deep sea) habitats around two underwater hydrothermal vent systems in the Gulf of California and in the Pacific Ocean west of the Baja California Peninsula. The sanctuary will protect the water column from the sea floor up to approximately 1,650 feet below the water’s surface, which means the fisheries industry will not be affected.

The Guaymas Basin polygon in the Gulf of California measures approximately 118,000 acres, with hydrothermal vents located at a depth of approximately 5,900 feet. The Eastern Pacific Rise polygon in the Pacific Ocean measures approximately 242,000 acres, with hydrothermal vents located at a depth of approximately 8,500 feet.

Hydrothermal vents are fissures in the Earth's crust that emit water heated from below the surface. Above ground, hydrothermal vents often take the form of hot springs and geysers, but on the ocean floor, these vents form columns of water much hotter than the surrounding ocean water. Some of these under-sea vents—known as black smokers—create black, billowing flues when the heavy concentrations of sulfur and other minerals in these super-heated jets come in contact with the cold water of deep seas. Black smokers are present in the Eastern Pacific Rise portion of the new sanctuary.

Other-worldly animal communities of giant tube worms, mollusks and crustaceans thrive on bacteria that feed on sulfur and other chemicals dissolved in the vent fluids. At least 41 species of invertebrates and two vertebrate species occur in these two new protected areas. Of these, eight are endemic to Mexican hydrothermal vents, such as the tube worm Ridgeia piscesae. These creatures represent ideal models for studying how animals adapt to extreme environments.

The Nature Conservancy’s Mexico Program—together with Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Guaymas Unit—provided technical support and data to Mexico’s National Protected Areas Commission in developing the justification study used in the creation of this new sanctuary.

Not only is this sanctuary a first for Mexico, but it also is a new strategy for deep-sea conservation and a successful model that can be expanded to other deep-sea habitats where fisheries interests might prevent the protection of the entire water column.

The other two marine protected areas announced by President Calderón in celebration of World Environment Day will also preserve important ocean habitats. The 75,500-acre Lobos–Tuxpan Reef System Flora and Fauna Protected Area adjacent to the state of Veracruz will protect the country’s northernmost Gulf of Mexico reefs, and the 360,000-acre Whale Shark Biosphere Reserve will shelter one of the world’s largest concentrations of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus). The Nature Conservancy supports local organizations already doing whale shark research in this zone where the nutrient-poor Caribbean Sea meets the much richer Gulf of Mexico, and data will be shared with the new park’s managers to help ensure the protection of the species.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.