CONANP, Mexico’s national commission for natural protected areas, will open public consultations this month to rewrite the management plan for Cabo Pulmo National Park. The current plan has governed the 7,111-hectare marine reserve since roughly 2011. Federal rules require a review every five years, so the update is roughly a decade overdue. Three sessions are scheduled: June 16 in Cabo Pulmo, June 17 in La Ribera, and June 19 in La Paz.
Cabo Pulmo National Park Grew From Depleted Fishery to Global Conservation Model
Cabo Pulmo sits on the East Cape of Baja California Sur, about 60 miles northeast of San José del Cabo. The park protects the only living coral reef in the Gulf of California and one of just three on North America’s Pacific coast. Scientists estimate the reef is roughly 20,000 years old.
By the early 1990s, overfishing had devastated the area. Local families, led by the Castro family and other longtime residents of the tiny community of Cabo Pulmo, pushed for federal protection. Mexico declared the site a national marine park in 1995. The community then agreed to a voluntary fishing ban that became legally binding under the park’s management program.
The results were dramatic. A 2011 study published in the journal PLOS ONE by researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography found that fish biomass inside the park had increased by more than 460% over 10 years. Bull sharks, manta rays, large schools of jacks, and sea turtles returned. International media called Cabo Pulmo “the world’s most robust marine reserve.” UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site in 2005 as part of the Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California.
The management program written around 2009 and formalized by 2011 set the rules that made this recovery possible. It established no-take zones, regulated dive and snorkel tourism, restricted anchoring, and limited the number of boats operating inside the park at any given time. Those rules have not been formally updated since.
Management Programs Control Dive Permits, Anchoring, and Visitor Access
A CONANP management program is the legal document that defines what can and cannot happen inside a Mexican protected area. For Cabo Pulmo, that means specific regulations on commercial dive operations, sport fishing boundaries, anchoring zones, watercraft speed limits, beach access, and research permits. Any tour operator taking visitors into the park must hold a permit issued under this framework.
CONANP Regional Director Benito Bermúdez said the consultations will let residents, tourism operators, organizations, and the general public review proposed changes and submit written comments. “The consultation process is about to begin,” Bermúdez said. “It is important that this information be widely disseminated so citizens can participate.”
The stakes are high for competing interests. Dive operators in the area have long called for clearer rules on how many boats can enter popular sites like El Vencedor and El Bajo at the same time. Overcrowding at peak season has been a recurring complaint. At the same time, fishing cooperatives in nearby La Ribera have pressed for adjustments to buffer zone boundaries that restrict their catch areas. Conservation groups want stronger enforcement tools written into the new plan, including penalties for illegal anchoring on coral.
The 15-year gap between updates has created a gray area. Tourism to Cabo Pulmo has grown sharply since 2011, driven by social media exposure and the expansion of Los Cabos as a destination. The tiny community of Cabo Pulmo has no paved main road, no gas station, and limited cell service, yet it now draws thousands of snorkelers and divers each year. The old management plan was written for a far smaller visitor load.
Consultation Sessions Open to All Residents and Visitors
The three June sessions are open to anyone, not just Mexican nationals. If you dive or snorkel at Cabo Pulmo, or if you operate a tourism business on the East Cape, the updated plan will directly shape access rules and permit requirements for years to come.
The June 16 session in Cabo Pulmo will likely draw the local fishing and dive operator community. The June 19 session in La Paz, the state capital, is expected to attract conservation NGOs and government stakeholders. Written comments can also be submitted to CONANP during the consultation period, though the agency has not yet published a formal deadline for submissions.
After the public comment period closes, CONANP will revise the draft and publish the final management program in Mexico’s Diario Oficial de la Federación, the federal register. No timeline for that publication has been announced. The source material for this report was published by a regional English-language outlet on June 9.