Field Notes, January in La Paz
Leslie Lab members Heather Leslie and Leila Sievanen traveled to La Paz, Mexico earlier this month for fieldwork and meetings with collaborators from Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Gulf of California Marine Program and The Nature Conservancy . The interdisciplinary research team, which includes experts in anthropology, ecology, economics, fisheries, and sustainability science, gathered in this vibrant fishing and tourism center in Baja California Sur, to review initial results of their NSF-funded project, and map out future research focused on small scale fisheries and related ecosystem services provided by the Gulf’s marine ecosystems.
TNC senior scientist Sheila Walsh, a former Leslie Lab postdoctoral research associate, shared the results of the group’s research with leaders of fishing cooperatives, as well as fishermen in the community of Sargento.
Heather, Leila, and Sheila also visited Cabo Pulmo, a Mexican national park south of La Paz where fish, sharks, and other marine species have made a tremendous comeback in the last decade, following the creation of a 72 km2 no-take marine reserve. Working in collaboration with Mexican and American academic groups and Mexican government, the community of Cabo Pulmo is developing a new model for sustainable tourism in southern Baja. Learn more…
This project is funded by NSF’s Coupled Natural and Human Systems Program, with additional support from Brown University’s Environmental Change Initiative and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Contact the Lead PI, Prof. Heather Leslie, to learn more.