OUR CAUSE
Sports and Collective Action
for the Ocean.
What began in 2023 as an extraordinary challenge, swimming 37 kilometers across the Bay of Banderas at night; has transformed into an innovative model of citizen participation and collaborative funding.
Our Mission
Our mission is to actively contribute to the conservation of the humpback whale and the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Mexican Pacific. Through sports as a means of action and awareness, we promote environmental consciousness, collective action, and mobilize resources to protect the ocean and natural protected areas.
Our Vision
We aspire to be an international benchmark in marine and terrestrial conservation, driving innovative strategies that, through sports, raise people's awareness, strengthen the social fabric, and mobilize alliances and resources to protect the ecosystems of the Mexican Pacific and the planet.
The Problems We Face
Humpback whales play a key ecological role as regulators of food webs and natural carbon sinks. Many of them are born in our warm Mexican waters and then migrate to their feeding grounds off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and the far North Pacific. However, on this route they face multiple human-caused threats that put their survival at risk:
Entanglement
The most critical and deadly threat. Abandoned fishing gear or "ghost nets" trap individuals of all ages, preventing them from swimming or breathing properly.
Collisions
Increased maritime traffic and excessive speed in transit and breeding areas cause direct impacts, serious injuries, and preventable deaths.
Unsustainable Tourism
The lack of regulation or compliance with whale watching rules generates acoustic and behavioral stress, severely altering their natural behavior.
Pollution and Climate Change
The presence of plastic waste, chemical pollutants, acoustic pollution, and the effects of climate change reduce the availability of food and the quality of their habitat.
Comprehensive Conservation Strategy
More than an event, our Comprehensive Strategy for the Conservation of the Humpback Whale and Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems is a model of social mobilization that strengthens high-impact local projects. We don't just highlight problems; we face them directly by channeling resources into 8 priority projects executed by experts.
Tangible Results:
- 22 whales rescued from entanglement through RABEN (Whale Entanglement Assistance Network).
- 38 kg of ghost nets removed from the seabed.
- 1,900 coral fragments planted and transplanted in Natural Protected Areas.
- 190 children empowered through community environmental education. Discover our impact
Comprehensive Conservation Strategy
Currently, this strategy includes eight key projects aimed at reducing threats to the humpback whale and marine and terrestrial ecosystems:
Whale Rescue
Assistance to entangled whales through the National RABEN Network.
Collision Prevention
Responsible navigation and speed regulation campaigns.
Zero Bay
Intensive initiative to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean.
Environmental Education
Awareness for children, families, and coastal communities.
Area Delimitation
Signage and buoying to protect Natural Protected Areas.
Coral Restoration
Research, planting, and transplanting of coral fragments.
Tourist Surveillance
Supervision of sustainable practices in whale watching.
Ghost Net Removal
Extraction of abandoned fishing gear on the seabed.
Whale Rescue
Assistance to entangled whales through the National RABEN Network.
Collision Prevention
Responsible navigation and speed regulation campaigns.
Zero Bay
Intensive initiative to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean.
Environmental Education
Awareness for children, families, and coastal communities.
Our Direct Impact
We operate as a collaborative funding platform. Thanks to more than 1,000 annual participants, we have managed to fund tangible results executed by our allies in the Mexican Pacific:
Whales Rescued
Corals Restored
(1,500 planted and 400 transplanted)Ghost Nets Removed
Waste Recovered
Empowered Children
MXN Raised
Allied Organizations
We work in a network. Our participatory model funds and supports high-impact projects led by civil society organizations, academia, and the government.
ECOBAC / RABEN
Rescue of entangled whales through the assistance network and prevention of collisions with vessels.
Join the conservation wave
No matter where you are, you can join our physical and virtual events. The goal here is not who finishes first, but who manages to mobilize the most support for the ocean.
Frequently Asked Questions: Conservation and Ecosystems
Key information about our biological impact, regulations, and the protection of the Mexican Pacific.
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are "ecosystem engineers". Through their movements and their biological cycle (the whale pump), they distribute essential nutrients from the depths to the surface, stimulating phytoplankton growth. Protecting them means ensuring the health of the entire marine food web and the oxygenation of our planet.
Definitely not. We are an organization strictly committed to the protection of marine fauna. In Mexico, swimming with whales is strictly prohibited and regulated by NOM-131-SEMARNAT-2010, which establishes the guidelines for their observation. Our sports swimming routes are planned respecting habitats so as not to alter their natural behavior.
Although they have recovered from commercial whaling, today they face serious human-caused threats: entanglement in "ghost nets" (the deadliest cause globally), collisions with vessels due to excessive speed, acoustic stress derived from unsustainable tourism, and habitat loss due to climate change and plastic pollution.
Blue corridors are marine superhighways that connect critical habitats. In the case of the humpback whale, they connect their summer feeding grounds (from California to Alaska) with their winter breeding and calving areas (Mexican Pacific and Central America). Protecting these obstacle-free routes is essential for their survival.
No. Although the humpback whale is our flagship species and "ecosystem engineer", our work encompasses the comprehensive conservation of marine and terrestrial biodiversity along the Mexican Pacific. We fund projects for coral reef restoration, ghost net removal, community environmental education, delimitation of Natural Protected Areas, and campaigns against plastic pollution. By protecting whales, we protect their entire habitat.
We channel resources to expert allies, such as researchers from CUCosta (University of Guadalajara). With these funds, underwater nurseries are installed, scuba diving expeditions are carried out, and planting and transplanting of coral fragments are executed in the Islas Marietas and Isla Isabel National Parks, combating bleaching caused by ocean warming.
