Last June, staff from Pronatura Noroeste and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the Ministry of the Navy and Global Conservation carried a field trip to Islas Marias Biosphere Reserve, in the Mexican Pacific. This visit is a step forward to establish the necessary alliances to protect the ecosystems present in this Natural Protected Area, located 120 kilometres from San Blas, Nayarit, and 170 kilometres from Mazatlan, Sinaloa.
As part of the visit, a work programme was signed to strengthen supervision, inspection and surveillance actions that Pronatura Noroeste and its partners develop for this Natural Protected Area. The objective is to strengthen the detection of fishing irregularities in the area, which extends over 640,000 hectares. To this end, various technological tools will be used, such as the Marine Monitor (also known as M2) and Marine Monitor Movil (M3) systems, which already operate in other protected sites, such as Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur.
Global Conservation’s director in Mexico, who is a partner in this important conservation project, accompanied and participated in the visit. Like Pronatura Noroeste, this organisation has experience in the use of technologies for conservation in different sites around the world.
During the tours, personnel from the Ministry of the Navy participated, provided relevant information and defined agreements aimed to strengthen compliance with environmental and fisheries legislation in favour of wildlife and habitats in Islas Marias.
The ecological importance of Islas Marías is largely due to its geographic isolation since eight million years ago. This makes it a refuge for endemic species, such as the Yellow-headed Parrot (Amazona oratrix), the Islas Marias Raccoon (Procyon lotor insularis) and the Islas Marias Rabbit (Sylvilagus graysoni). It is also a nesting site for seabirds and a resting place for different migratory birds coming from North America.
To understand the preservation history of Islas Marias, one has to look back more than 100 years. Throughout the 20th century, Maria Madre Island functioned as a penitentiary, once housing around 45,000 prisoners, some of them highly dangerous. Its remoteness from the coast and the mystery of what went on inside gave rise to numerous films, literary works, stories and myths. This changed dramatically after the turn of the century, when in 2000 the federal government declared Islas Marias a Natural Protected Area (NPA) with the status of a Biosphere Reserve.
Another decisive step to protect the marine and coastal ecosystems on the islands was taken in 2019, with the announcement of the closure of the island-prison. This allowed for a comprehensive structuring of environmental protection plans for the four islands that make up the archipelago: San Juanico Island, Maria Magdalena Island, Maria Cleofas Island and the largest island, Maria Madre Island, where the prison operated.
Join us in the Islas Marías conservation adventure and take action to protect its valuable ecosystems.
