Cabo Pulmo Marine Park
The park is surrounded by undeveloped desert and
a beautiful mountain range, that are the perfect contrast to the
pristine beaches of Cabo Pulmo Park, with a shallow bay that
contains one of the three living reefs, and the only hard coral
reef, in North America. This precious piece of property had been
unprotected for many years, until 1995, when the community began
to realized that if they didn't do something very soon, it would
more like the other beautiful areas of Mexico that have become
tourist destinations that are overgrown with houses,
restaurants, bars and other curiosities designed to encourage
visitors to come and spend large amounts of money. In 1995, the
government would designate the waters off the shore and the
landscape around it into a National Marine Park, although, it
has been barraged by pressures from the commercial fishing and
abuse from tourists that visit here unawares or uneducated about
the majestic beauty and pristineness of this park. It is
especially challenging to keep local fisherman that make their
living by fishing the waters in this region, so the enforcement
of a ban would prove to be both difficult and unpopular. But
there are other locals residents, both Mexicans and Americans
that live here and are committed to protecting this great marine
environment and promoting sustainable fishing practices. This
beautiful reef has eight fingers of hard coral reef, that offers
and provides a safe environment for the 800 species of marine
animals that can be found in the Sea of Cortez, with a very rich
biodiversity that is unparalleled and thus a target of
overzealous and eager sports and commercial fishermen during the
1980s. As the fish populations began to decline, and the abuses
increased, the community and its residents became concerned
about their future community and began a process to protect the
area.
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