Sea of Cortez
by Staff EditorThe Sea of Cortez is another one of nature's wonders, this time, located right in North America. Generally referred to as the Gulf of California on most maps, this area that separates the Baja California peninsula from the Mexican mainland is known as the Sea of Cortez to the local residents.
Named after Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez in 1539, the Sea of Cortez was then believed to be the passageway to the mythical Strait of Anian, which was thought to connect the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans.
The rich and varied varieties of marine life found here include native local animals, itinerant mammals like the humpback whale, California Gray Whale, manta ray and Leatherback Sea Turtle and the Flying Mobula of the Sea of Cortez.
The area has long been a Mecca for sport fishing enthusiasts and many a sport fishing record has been set here. The sea is also home to a successful commercial fishing industry with an abundance of species such as tuna. The wealth of fish found here gives it the capacity of being able to open new fisheries, whereas in other bodies of water the fisheries are stable and not looking to expand.
With the prevalence of these two industries, the threat of endangerment to the ecosystem is on the minds of government officials and environmentalists. The Mexican government has lobbied unsuccessfully to create preservation zones in the Gulf, their efforts thwarted by a political butting of heads and lack of enforcement resources. As the coastline is thousands of miles long and much of it is remotely located, it becomes difficult to patrol. As well, the powerful labor unions that oversee the commercial fishing industry are unwilling to embrace conservationist change.
There are numerous towns and cities along the Sea of Cortez who have it to thank for their survival. Areas that thrive off of the sport fishing industry are: Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, Guyamas and Mulege and cities who depend on the commercial fishing industry for their survival include: Ensenada and Mazatlan on the Pacific Coast.
