ENSENADA NET BOATS--Commercial net boats working in very shallow water just off the beach at the south end of Bahia de Todos Santos, Ensenada, B.C., Mexico, June 10, 2005. Photo courtesy Mark Blucker.

COMMERCIAL SEINERS NET FISHING THE BEACHES AT ENSENADA

June 20, 2005, Mark Blucker, La Jolla Camp, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico:

On a trip to Ensenada on June 10, I took pictures of five commercial net boats working just outside the surf line, in 15 to 25 feet of water. These boats net food for the tuna pens in the bay, but they kill all the bass and other slow growing resident fish. These net boats are there most weekdays, early mornings until maybe 8 a.m. The local Mexican residents have gone to authorities and have gotten only lip service. These boats are not supposed to work here and they are so close to the beach you don't need a boat to see who they are. Officials claim they don't have the resources to do anything. Maybe these photos will be seen by someone with the huevos to do something about it.