Guadalupe Island closure
White shark cage diving by tourists is now prohibited at Guadalupe Island indefinitely.
With our partners we are doing all we can to establish exactly why this unilateral decision was made, and to negotiate with the authorities to implement policies and procedures that will ensure the continued monitoring of white sharks at this critically important location.
To date the cage diving boats have been the most practical means of monitoring, allowing constant cost-effective access to independent observers and researchers.
This page is where you will be able find the latest and most accurate information, please bookmark it and check back often for updates.
Please use the form to sign up for updates and to be alerted to any important developments.
We also urge you to read the FAQs section below.
Together we CAN make a difference!
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FAQs
What is Happening?
In a policy statement issued January 9, 2023, the Mexican Government closed the Biosphere Reserve of Guadalupe Island to any sort of tourism, diving, or fishing:
"Article 65…. Rule 65. White shark observation may not be carried out in the Reserve for tourist purposes, to avoid altering their habitat, behavior and feeding sites, and thereby preserve and conserve the species."
There is no time limit on the closure specified in the instrument.
The full Management Program can be found here.
Why is this a problem?
While we believe the rationale of the updated Management Program is well-intentioned, the unilateral decision to close the reserve in this way raises genuine concerns over the future well-being of Eastern Pacific White Sharks. Mexico has the opportunity to protect and safeguard this important population of sharks which visit waters around Guadalupe Island as part of their much wider migration cycle. We believe the new provisions may be counter-productive. This is a vital aggregation site for white sharks and of critical global importance to the species.
Why Are We Concerned?
The presence of cage dive vessels at Guadalupe during the diving season meant constant communication with the mainland, and the ability to monitor what was happening in the vicinity. The lack of on-site surveillance potentially opens the door to:
• Poaching
• Illegal Fishing
• Bycatch in other fisheries
• Loss of research data
What is the economic value of a Guadalupe White shark?
How Long is the closure?
There is no time limit on the closure within the new Management Program, therefore the closure is indefinite until the regulations are amended again or repealed.
What is your Goal?
With our partners, to conduct further discussions with the relevant authorities to devise and institute an effective monitoring plan for the white sharks at Guadalupe Island.
What Can I Do about it?
Right now, the most effective action is to sign up to our email list via the form on this page. You may very well be needed in our bid to secure monitoring of the sharks at Guadalupe Island.
Please do not post content that may prove to be counter-productive or inflammatory to our ongoing negotiation with policy makers.
Several experienced parties working together, including Be A Shark, with proven and successful track records in shark conservation advocacy at government level, are now engaged with relevant decision-making stakeholders to resolve the current situation in Mexico. While we all undertake that task in a coordinated manner we respectfully ask that we are given the opportunity to carry out the sometimes delicate discourse required without external interference.
We will publish developments immediately when it is possible, and of course put out calls to action if and when we need the help of individuals or the wider community.
We understand the issues concerned can elicit extremely strong feelings among shark enthusiasts and conservationists, but we would urge you to put emotion to one side at this moment so that we can deal effectively with the relevant policy makers. At present, not all facts are known, and until they are fully established we must be careful of any statements made that could hinder or undermine discussions.
For us all, our biggest responsibility is to the sharks, and we implore you to remember that when making or publishing any public announcements.
Our immediate intention with this page is not to fan flames, but to make everyone aware of the closure, to reassure anyone concerned that work is being done to bring all required protection to the sharks, and to keep you aware of developments. As stated, we are encouraging you to sign up so that you can keep informed of genuine and accurate information and progress, in addition to making you aware if we require your assistance in due course.
If we all pull together with deliberate and considered actions we can make a difference.
Where can I go for up to date information?
This Guadalupe Closure page on the Be A Shark website is being redesigned to host updated information about the closure. Please bookmark the page and check back often.
Everyone associated with Be A Shark is here because of a deep and abiding love for the great whites of Guadalupe Island. We understand the responsibility we have to show our toothy friends in a more realistic, positive and less sensationalist manner. To address the media-created fear of sharks through consistent messages to the contrary. We owe it to them to represent and protect them.
Through our partnership and continued research with Marine Conservation Science Institute (MCSI), who have been tracking the individual sharks at Guadalupe for many years, we have watched many of the sharks grow up. We look forward to identifying the sharks we see each trip, and to providing insight into their behavior, growth and overall well-being. With no dive boats going to Guadalupe, the continuity of this long-running and vital project is in jeopardy.
NEW VIDEO
Our friend Carlos Gauna, famously known as @themalibuartist has uploaded a very detailed video to YouTube about the current state of play at Guadalupe Island and his thoughts on it.
We thought it was really worth sharing!
About Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island is a volcanic island located 241 kilometres (130 nautical miles) off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about 400 km (200 nmi) southwest of the city of Ensenada, in the Pacific Ocean. It is administered as part of the state of Baja California in a delegation with Ensenada. The island measures 35 kilometres (22 mi) north-south and up to 9.5 kilometres (6 mi) east-west, with a total area of 243.988 km2 (94+13⁄64 sq mi).
The island is inhabited only by scientists, military personnel operating a weather station, and a small group of seasonal fishermen. It is mostly arid and has very little surface water.
Guadalupe Island and its surrounding waters and islets were declared a biosphere reserve in 2005 to protect and restore its vegetation, marine mammals and birds. It has also been a pinniped sanctuary since 1975.
It is a white shark aggregation site, with Carcharodon carcharias visiting each year between the months of July and January to feed around the pinniped colonies.
White sharks are susceptible to rapid stock declines based on their intrinsic rate of population increase (low - they are slow to grow, mature and reproduce) and natural rarity.
The sharks at Guadalupe have been studied as a population and have been shown to migrate to waters outside of Mexico, even as far west as Hawaii. Wild animals do not recognise man-made boundaries. While the sharks do not belong to them, Mexico has an amazing treasure in Guadalupe Island and are key to protecting this important population of white sharks.
The biggest concern is that Guadalupe is so remote and there is little monitoring of activities on the ocean. The sharks could easily be poached. Losing these sharks could affect ecosystems all over the Pacific.
We are worried that we are going to lose these sharks on our watch. That would be tragic.