page_title: San Quintín, Baja California
section_title: Aquaculture
hierarchical_section_title: San Quintín, Baja California / Aquaculture
caption_attribution_description: Niños pescando en la bahía de San Quintín, BC, México
context_page_description: San Quintín is a coastal town on the west coast of the Mexican state of Baja California, in the Municipality of San Quintin, some 190 km south of the city of Ensenada on Mexican Federal Highway 1. The town is also in the middle of an important agricultural area, especially for growing strawberries and tomatoes. The largest nearby locality is Lázaro Cardenas, home to 16,294 people as of the 2010 census. The whole area houses roughly 25,000 people, up from 20,000 in 2000. This is the largest population cluster south of Ensenada within the state.
  The coast also has many sand dunes, and is a popular place for off-road vehicles.
  The town is on the west coast of the central Baja California Peninsula, near the Bahía de San Quintín, 300 km south of the San Ysidro–Tijuana international border along Federal Highway 1.
  The Misión Santo Domingo de la Frontera lies 20 km north of San Quintín.
context_section_description: In the realm of aquaculture, there are immense possibilities for growth. The extensive shoreline along the Pacific and the Sea of Cortes is in ideal condition, both biologically and economically speaking. The development and adaptation of aquaculture technology by Baja Californian institutions and the vocation of cultivating marine fish and mollusks have influenced the practice, making it a reality in present-day Baja California.
  Due to the development in the cultivation of oysters, mussels and abalones, aquaculture has secured its place in the fishing industry and the demand for fishing products is increasing on a global scale. Baja California is a pioneer in the practice and at the forefront in aquaculture. Natural resources are at their maximum exploitation or have entered over-exploitation. Aquaculture has proved to be an answer to this crisis, as it is the area in the primary food sector where there are significant records of growth.
  Fishing has become a tradition for many in Baja California, being distinguished worldwide for its high quality and variety. Business is conducted with distant locations such as Europe and Asia in addition to the United States and parts of Mexico. There is infrastructure in fisheries of all kinds, including technological, scientific, and specialized educational infrastructure.
  Ensenada has many processing plants, canning machines, freezers, as well as fresh and live products, and gel production from seaweed. Several factories produce packages of different materials, such as tin cans, cardboard boxes, and extracted polyethylene packaging. The adjacent industrial areas in Baja California also facilitate the acquisition of equipment and spare parts.
  There are shipyards and workshops to support the fishing industry as well as prestigious research centers for aquaculture that prepare students from a specialized secondary education, through technology programs in high school focusing on oceanography, to doctoral degrees in science. Resources have increased substantially in recent years, considering the aquaculture industry in Baja California began just two decades ago.
  To date, significant progress has already been made, with the greatest development being the cultivation of the oyster in San Quintín, with Ostiones Guerrero, SA de CV being the oldest and largest producer of both Pacific Gigas and Kumamoto oysters in Bahia Falsa and home to La Ostionera, its signature restaurant on the bay where locals and tourists alike come to enjoy fresh oysters and other "mariscos". The local oyster harvests produce over 1000 tons annually as well as mussels, abalone and other local species. The Bahia Falsa is certified by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States which guarantees the quality of the products and facilitates the commercial concurrence to the markets of that country. 
  Recently, Ostiones Guerrero, SA de CV signed a collaboration agreement with Stellar Biotechnologies of Port Hueneme, California to grow giant keyhole limpets (megathura crenulata) at their aquaculture facilities at La Chorera, constructed for abalone farming. Under this collaboration, the animals will be grown for the extraction of a rare blood protein from the limpets called KLH, used in immunotherapy treatments of cancer, lupus, Alzheimers and in early stages of clinical trials for treatment of diabetes.
  In addition to the natural wealth and the relative absence of pollution, it shares a border with a California, an important market. The most diverse shipments of seafood from Baja California cross the international border between Tijuana, B.C. and San Diego, California. The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is located 138 miles from the border with Mexico. From there, regular shipments of live fish and fresh seafood are made, using a route from the Baja California fishing fields ending at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Japan.
caption: Fishing in the San Quintin Bay
exif: {}