of Mexico Guadalupe Island is one of the world’s top great white shark cage diving sites, and divers and underwater photographers have enjoyed exciting encounters with these impressive predators for over 15 years .
By some estimates, in addition to providing about $25 million in net revenue for the state of Baja, cage diving with sharks, according to advocates, keeps the animals safe from poaching. However, this activity has also caused controversy, with the Mexican Government making the decision to close the Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve in 2021—having continued to close the park in 2020 due to the pandemic—and subsequently which again banned shark cage diving and other recreational activities from May to December 2022.
In it New information postedThe National Commission on Nature Reserves (CONANP), the federal agency tasked with managing Mexico’s protected natural areas, stated that the closure in 2022 “will allow for gather information to guide operations and adopt sustainable best practices that ensure the conservation” of Guadalupe’s great white shark population.
Understandably, the managers of the liveaboards that run shark cage diving trips to Guadalupe have been furious with the latest ban, as have state authorities. One of the operators, Horizon Charters, even tried to fight the latest closure in court, but a federal judge ruled that the suspension would be upheld. Based on Horizon .’s recent Facebook postThe Mexican government intends to “issue a draft report in December on the closure of the island indefinitely or permitting the adjustment of tourism on the island,” and that report has now failed to materialise, Hai said. Mexican troops have been put in charge of the island, and they “will issue their own draft report and judgments will be made by March 2023.”
For now, shark photography enthusiasts can only wait and see what happens. But Horizon Charters remains optimistic: “We believe the State of Baja will reject the political view of closing in 2022 and the island opening in 2023.”
Read about shark ecotourism in Guadalupe on DPG this.
