Reef Check Baja California: Surveys Begin!

By Reef Check’s Baja California Regional Manager Jessica Pantoja
Photos: Anahi Bermudez

Did you know we have been working on a bi-national Kelp Forest Monitoring Program between Mexico and the US? This month, Reef Check and our key partners in Mexico, such as the MexCal team from UABC (Universidad Autónoma de Baja California) and the NGO ECOCIMATI, took another step in enhancing a long-term, large-scale program to monitor and evaluate our shared coastal ecosystems. Newly hired Baja California Regional Manager Jessica Pantoja from Reef Check and Alex Castillo (MexCal) will coordinate this new adventure by bringing together volunteers from both sides of the border to dive with purpose along the beautiful northwest coast. 

A recap of October’s surveys: 

2024’s surveys began in Ensenada with a mix of volunteers from the United States and Mexico, and staff from MexCal and Reef Check. The group of 10 divers set out from Ensenada to survey Todos Santos Bay and areas further along the coast. In three days the team surveyed the sites of Salsipuedes, San Miguel, Todos Santos Island, and Punta Banda- the southern tip of the bay. This Bi-national team completed four survey sites and has trained three Ensenada locals in Reef Check and MexCal-adapted protocols. 

On the second weekend the team moved north to the Coronado Islands, located off the coast of Tijuana, where four more sites were surveyed. By the end of the second weekend, our newly hired regional managers were running surveys and taking charge in English, Spanish and bubbles! 

These underwater ecological surveys are already documenting critical insights. For example, data show an increase in urchin density and invasive algae species like hornweed (Sargassum horneri) and a decrease in kelp species like giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and California sea palm (Eisenia arborea). However, some areas like the islands of Todos Santos were still thriving and seemingly recovering from past years. 

Looking ahead, we are hoping to expand our survey range throughout the coastline and bring in a variety of volunteer divers from Baja and beyond. With dedicated staff focusing on the Baja region, we also hope to conduct a much longer season throughout the summer of 2025! This program was made possible thanks to grant support from the Binational Resilience Initiative at San Diego Foundation, as well as the support of our local collaborators (MexCal, ECOCIMATI, UABC, and all the local eager divers), who have had a key role in creating one of the long-term kelp forest monitoring programs in Baja California.

We look forward to continuing our local collaboration as we continue the program! 

Monitoring these ecosystems is essential for understanding their health and vulnerabilities, and providing key data to support decision-making that drives management and conservation efforts. Additionally, given that Baja California’s kelp forests are thought to be oracles for the future of kelp forests in California and along the Northwest coast, these collaborations are an opportunity to enhance our understanding of these systems at larger scales with the hands and eyes of local divers up and down the coast!