A window to the past and future aquaculture in the Gulf of California: the abundant times of ‘Meyibó’
The Gulf of California, a global marine biodiversity hotspot, has long supported coastal communities through rich aquatic resources. Yet historic bivalve habitats—such as pearl oyster beds and reefs—have become functionally extinct, mirroring global declines. Using geospatial analysis informed by written records, oral histories and ecological data, this study maps past and present distributions of key bivalve species along the Baja California peninsula. The resulting spatial dataset and prioritization framework identify areas best suited for restoration and ecologically sustainable aquaculture. By integrating cultural history, ecological change and development needs, the work supports strategies that balance biodiversity recovery, climate goals and community livelihoods.
Subject Tags
- Aquaculture
- Coastal
- Reefs
Abstract
The Gulf of California has been widely recognized as a global marine biodiversity hotspot. For centuries, the use of aquatic resources in the region has provided food and employment to different groups of people and communities. With demand for seafood continuing to grow, domestically and globally, the pressure on these resources will increase. This raises questions about how community, government and industry can balance socioeconomic and ecological demands, including the need to meet multiple development goals, such as conservation and biodiversity targets, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and greater equality. This article describes the long-term impact that different human cultures have had along the coast of the Baja peninsula, with a focus on bivalve species that once created productive and critical habitats such as pearl oyster beds and reefs. Like many places worldwide these habitats are now considered to be functionally extinct and greater intervention through aquaculture and restoration is needed to enable their recovery. Using geospatial analysis that includes historical data from written and verbal sources, we developed and applied a spatial dataset and prioritization process to inform restoration and ecologically sustainable aquaculture development for bivalve species going forward.
Citation
Walther Mendoza, M., Alleway, H. K., Quiñones, S., Mackay, J., & Fiore Amaral, G. (2025). A window to the past and future aquaculture in the Gulf of California: the abundant times of ‘Meyibó’. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 380(1930). https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0041
TNC Authors
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Mariana Walther Mendoza
Gulf of California Fisheries Lead, Mexico and North Central America
The Nature Conservancy
Email: mariana.walther@tnc.org -
Heidi K. Alleway
Senior Aquaculture Scientist
The Nature Conservancy
Email: heidi.alleway@tnc.org -
Jonathan Mackay
The Nature Conservancy