I am a marine biologist working as a naturalist for Baja Discovery, taking folks whale watching twice a day. San Ignacio Lagoon has long been a safe place for mother whales and their calves. Approximately 120 families live in several small fishing villages around the lagoon and make their living there. They spend part of the year catching fish and lobsters and the other part taking tourists whale watching. Kuyima Ecotourismo is the organization of local people who make the decisions about whale watching.
Laws limit the number of boats and the amount of time boats can spend on the water.
San Ignacio Lagoon is a great example of how people can live sustainably within their environment. I hope this gives you some idea about what it's like here in San Ignacio Lagoon. Keith Jones is crazy about the baby whales in the lagoons. This photo shows a baby that was surfacing near our boat on January 22, 2000. Like him, most of the dozen babies we saw were from one to three weeks old.