Fisher-divers from the Magdalena Bay Cooperative got certified in the Reef Check methodology and conducted the first monitoring of their marine reserve in November 2010. Staff from the marine coservation organization Comunidad y Biodiversidad (www.cobi.org.mx) and the School For Field Studies of Puero San Carlos also participated in the monitoring.

The Reef Check California monitoring protocol was adapted to this area. Divers identify, count and measure 22 species of fishes, 17 species of invertebrates and 4 algae; all of these are of commercial or ecologic importance. In addition to these transect-based surveys, two fisher-divers, known as the abalone seekers, conduct timed-surveys (not associated with a transect) looking for abalone and counting and sizing them and recording the distance between patches of these invertebrates.

Photo credits A. Hernandez & M. Luna