It’s not just that Carlos Padrés’ crab pots keep coming up nearly empty. Or that the beaches the 73-year-old fisherman has known his whole life are shrinking, or that the canals in the estuary where he makes his living are getting shallower.
Even the sounds have changed, as the seabirds that use this desert wetland as a stopover point on lengthy migrations now come in fewer and fewer numbers.
“Close your eyes and you can still hear them,” Padrés said. But the sound is quieter.
Padrés’ business is able to stay afloat because of a rise in seafood prices, even though the crab supply has decreased considerably. Even so, the Padrés brothers are not able to make a living off just their crab pots anymore.
Climate change is taking its toll in Laguna la Cruz in the Mexican state of Sonora. Combined with overfishing, many populations of animals are drastically declining. Nearby shrimp farms aren’t helping either, as scientists say they’re pumping sediment into the estuary where Padrés fishes. Now, a diverse group that includes scientists, environmentalists and fishermen like the Padrés family are banding together to try to protect this wetland.
These threats are putting many of the species that rely on Laguna la Cruz at risk, said biologist Héctor Pérez Puig with the Prescott College Kino Bay Center. The field station researches the species in the Gulf of California and provides Arizona students opportunities to learn more about the ecosystem. Without this oasis in the desert, migratory animals like the seabirds would be left without a place to refuel as they travel from south to north and back again.
Other species, including sharks and fish that spend most of their life in the Gulf of California, use this area as a nursery, Pérez Puig said. The gentle currents and shallow depths of the wetland keep babies safe until they’re big enough to go out into the gulf.
“If something happened to the estuary to cut off the life cycles of those species, we basically wouldn't have those fish in the Gulf of California,” Pérez Puig said.
Padrés wants to help disrupt that trend and save the animals that rely on this important habitat, which is why he is working with the Prescott College Kino Bay Center to convince the state to protect this estuary. That protection would open the door for the state to put limits on fishing and crabbing, as well as protect the environment against future development.
Laguna la Cruz already has a special UNESCO designation for wetlands, said Ramón Héctor Barraza Guardado, a Universidad de Sonora scientist who has studied the lagoon for decades. But that designation comes with little practical impact in terms of regulation.
“The deterioration continues,” Barraza Guardado said. “That’s what worries us.”
Barraza Guardado is part of the team advocating for state protection for the wetland. His work shows that the thousands of acres of nearby shrimp farms that pump water in and out of the estuary are degrading the water quality.
Plus, the critical mangrove forests that nurture species and reduce erosion are in danger from urban development, Barraza Guardado said. He hopes protection from the state will help to bring back the deteriorating environment.
“What the wetland needs is restoration,” Barraza Guardado said. “That’s what we’re urging.”
There was a time when Padrés wouldn’t have considered catching less on purpose. But that has changed, as he’s worked with scientists like those at the Prescott College Kino Bay Center to gain an awareness of the importance of this ecosystem.
He said others in his generation are also becoming more aware, but he still sees many fishermen his age who overharvest and throw their plastic bottles into the lagoon.
He hopes new generations will care for the space better than previous ones have.
From the shore, Padrés pointed to the spots where he and his brothers now monitor water quality around their usual fishing routes. That data will be used in their bid to get state protected status.
The sea turtles that use this area to feed are rebounding, largely thanks to community involvement and tighter regulation. Padrés hopes the same can happen for all the species here, so that his grandchildren don’t have to learn about the crabs, fish and birds he grew up with in books.
“I have hope that one day that will be achieved,” Padrés said. “I hope I can see it. That’s why we’re fighting.”
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The children’s park had been in disuse for around a decade. Residents have called for a revamp to the park and restoration of the wetland for years.
