Assessment of Impacts to the Marine Environment in the Region of Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico

A Mexican federal agency, FONATUR, is planning a development project in Loreto, Baja California Sur, which will cause a ten-fold increase in the population and significant urban development along the coast. The development planned for Loreto will take place along the western boundary of the National Marine Park Bay of Loreto (NMPBL), which was established to manage renewable and nonrenewable resources and to restore critical habitats. The park is home to commercial and sport fishing as well as ecotourism. Growths in tourism and in resident populations of the Loreto region will likely result in an increase in demand for fish. As the fleets of commercial and artisanal fisheries grow, the increase in fishing effort will intensify pressure on already overexploited local fish stocks. In addition, coastal development and pollution can result in the modification of areas that can serve as potential recruitment habitat for important fisheries species. In order to support any type of development in the area, management officials and city and government officials need to regulate and control all activities that impact the region’s natural resource stocks. The most urgent need is the establishment of ecosystem-based fisheries management, and officials must find an effective way to implement and enforce this management scheme. Conservation of critical habitats and spawning aggregations should be among the most important issues to address since their protection ensures replenishment of adult populations of target species