{"id":44377,"date":"2020-07-29T00:10:17","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T22:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=44377"},"modified":"2025-07-02T09:39:31","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T07:39:31","slug":"cabo-pulmo-ocean-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/44377\/cabo-pulmo-ocean-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Cabo Pulmo, an ocean success story for people and wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n

Twenty five years ago, the biodiversity and beauty of Cabo Pulmo was threatened by overfishing and irresponsible tourism<\/a>. Now the coral reef in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur is again home to a wide variety of life including several types of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, birds and marine mammals. As we campaign for a global ocean treaty,<\/a> the successful fight to care for this area shines as an inspiring example of how local communities can bring about great change to benefit both people and the environment.<\/p>\n\n

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Thanks to this people power, in 1995 Cabo Pulmo was declared a Natural Protected Area<\/strong> under Mexican law. Since then, numbers of fish have increased by more than 400% and Cabo Pulmo now thrives like a reef that has never been fished in. Likewise, migratory species such as whale sharks,  giant mantas, humpback whales, marine turtles and sharks have returned to the area.  The recovery of this amazing reef is a success story: in part due to the legal protections passed but also due to the collaboration of nearby communities, who even voluntarily stopped their own fishing activities to support the environmental protection of the unique Cabo Pulmo ecosystem. Now, the locals promote sustainable tourist activities such as whale, turtle and shark watching, as well as diving for small groups of visitors. <\/p>\n\n