The BCS government, the Japanese company Ocean Construction, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, federal agencies, representatives of producers, academia and civil society organizations are developing a pilot plan in the Bay of La Paz, which is generating encouraging results that could be replicated in the region.

In May 2023, they were placed in a strategic area of the Bay of La Paz 200 structures filled with seashells. These are artificial reefs called "Shellnurse"a technology that has been proven in Japan for more than 40 years, with favorable results for the fishing communities. This initiative seeks to restore the marine ecosystemby providing habitat that allows marine life to flourish.

The Government of Baja California Surthe Japanese company Ocean Constructionthe Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), federal agencies, representatives of the area's producers, academia and civil society organizations have joined forces to create this artificial reef and monitor the results of this pilot plan. The objective is to test if this artificial reef not only promotes the attraction of fish and biological communities to the structures, but also if it favors biomass production by functioning as a space where species can develop vital functions, such as feeding, protection and particularly settlement or fixation for larval eggs and shelter for juveniles of different marine groups.

"A successful result would be that the reefs establish breeding and protection spaces for some species, converting an area that was initially sandy and with little abundance of organisms, into production sites from which communities are reestablished and populations are restored," said Silvia Ramirez, a collaborator of NOS Noroeste Sustentable, one of the organizations participating in the project.

With the participation of local academia, monitoring is being carried out in the area to evaluate the performance of the pilot reef project. Monitoring includes oceanographic and plankton studies, as well as diversity and environmental DNA, to detect the presence of species and their interaction with the new habitats. We are also conducting studies on the fisheries importance of the area and visiting the communities to learn about their current situation, share the project with them and learn about their interest in the possibility of implementing it more broadly in the area. Bay of La PazThe purpose of the project is to improve the living conditions of the communities by increasing the production of resources and offering economic development options.

The studies will also allow to identify and suggest, together with the producers and the Council, potential sites to establish more artificial reefs and by understanding how these structures are being used by different species, develop interconnected spaces that increase species richness, diversity and production from the creation of these artificial habitats.

Areas of prosperity

For the artificial reef pilot project type Shellnursethe JICA proposed the formation of a Satoumi Councilled by the State Government and with the participation and representation of different federal, state and municipal agencies, producers, academia and civil organizations.

This Satoumi Council The aim is to be able to generate sufficient and solid information to replicate this idea in what we do in the future. Japan is known as Marine Ranches and eventually scaling it up to other coastal areas of Mexico.

"Marine ranches are areas, relatively reduced, designed to create varied spaces, from the arrangement and distribution of shell reefs, in which species find sufficient and adequate habitat that favors their permanence. In which they can find protection, food and generate processes and interactions, according to the use they make of the reef and in which some key species eventually establish themselves permanently and thus transform these areas into dynamic and productive marine spaces".

"The selection and design of these spaces is a work of collaboration and creativity, in which the interest and knowledge of local fishermen and the scientific contributions of the academy complement each other, to propose, according to their experience, that spatial arrangement of reefs, that articulate a rich and diverse habitat in which fishing communities can carry out sustainable exploitation activities, whether to produce food, generate economic activities based on tourism, recreation, environmental education, repopulation, conservation and sustainable fishing exploitation", emphasized Silvia Ramírez.

A viable alternative for communities

Along the entire coastline of the Sea of Cortez are home to hundreds of communities whose subsistence depends on what the fishing activity provides them.

With many fisheries in decline, the restoration of marine ecosystems with Shellnurses emerges as a viable option to change that situation and prosper.

Through the Satoumi Council public actions or policies can be recommended or promoted to speed up or favor the implementation of these artificial reefs. The experience of the Council installed in Baja California SurThe Council offers a space for coordination and collaboration among the different government agencies to address and resolve the administrative procedures and processes necessary for the success of a project such as this, in which the commitment and coordination among authorities is a determining factor.

"The results so far show that it can be a very good alternative, but it is important that the communities take ownership of it and make the most of it, taking care of it and allowing it to be a source of biological production and well-being," said Silvia Ramírez.

The project of Shellnurse type artificial reefs was presented at the Summit 2023 from Sea of Cortez Forum and generated interest among attendees from the five states in the region, as it is expected that this initiative will not only benefit the biodiversity and the marine ecosystemsbut also contributes to economic prosperity to fishing communities burdened by the decline in many fisheries.