Mexico: Protecting Red Knots and grunions at the Gulfo de Santa Clara

Conservation Value:

Each spring for millennia a natural spectacle has taken place when the Colorado River forms a delta in the upper reaches of the Sea of Cortez and millions of endemic Gulf grunion (sardine-like fish) lay their eggs, providing a critical food resource for the red knot roselaari (Pacific) subspecies during its spring migration.  Up to 9,300 red knots have been seen at one time which represents 44 percent of the entire roselaari population.  This subspecies is classed as Threatened under Canada’s Species At Risk Act.

Threats:

The spring occurrence of the Pacific red knot in the Golfo de Santa Clara coincides with a popular beach holiday in Mexico called Semana Santa (Holy Week).  Thousands of American and Mexican tourists flock to these beaches to camp, enjoy the beach, and party. Trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles havet races on the beach and in 2018 alone 6 people died and 16 were severely wounded.  People harvest thousands of grunions and there has been little oversight or regulation over what has been considered an economic boon to the region.

Actions & Results:

Since 2020, Biome has supported a group that began in 2018 when Pronatura Noroeste organized and trained a group of local women to begin an outreach campaign on  shorebirds and their conservation needs.  This enthusiastic group call themselves Las Pejerreinas or “Grunion Queens”.  Their campaign was launched during the 2019 Holy Week.

The Pejerreinas set up a large white tent with interpretive displays; they wear light blue t-shirts to be identified easily as the guardians of the birds and grunions and they patrol 17 kilometers of beach (demarcated with with orange highway cones and yellow tape).  In a typical year, the campaign interacts with 32,000 beach-goers.