Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias is a civil association uniting fishermen, academics, volunteers, students, and community members around a shared vision: combining scientific knowledge with local ecological knowledge to protect sea turtles across Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
How it started
The movement traces back to 1992, growing out of PhD field research by marine biologists Wallace J. Nichols and Jeff A. Seminoff. What began as a research project evolved into a 25+ year, community-led movement — formally established as a civil association in 2007.
Where they work
The network operates across six primary communities on the Baja California peninsula: Bahía de los Ángeles, Loreto, San Carlos, San Ignacio, Punta Abreojos, and Laguna Ojo de Liebre.
What they do
- Water- and land-based population monitoring
- Environmental education
- Socio-environmental project development and policy input
- Annual meetings bringing stakeholders together to share results
It’s a horizontal, community-led model — and one with two and a half decades of documented population recovery to show for it.