Steven Swartz, a marine mammal biologist with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, takes issue with such statements. Swartz, who was on the government panel and had studied the lagoon's whales in the 1970s, says he's glad the project will not be built. But, he says, the ESSA study involved top-notch scientists. Jorge Urban, a biologist at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur and a leading expert on the gray whale, was similarly blunt, saying ecotourism boats worry him more than saltworks. There was no problem for the whales.
Scientific studies are one thing.
Simple eyeballing is another. Visiting the saltworks in the town of Guerrero Negro is an eye-opener because one thing Guerrero Negro has plenty of is whales. The plant was built next to Laguna Ojo de Liebre, another whale breeding ground that is larger than Laguna San Ignacio and attracts more whales. Now everyone wants to get sick. ESSA is a salt powerhouse.