The justification of this project is the species of interest, the Pacific sharpnose shark and the Pacific cownose ray, which are relatively abundant coastal species in traditional fisheries of the Gulf of California. The statistical record corresponding to the state of Sinaloa points out an average of 1,800 tons of shark a year in the last five years. During this same period, Sonora and Sinaloa have been recorded in the first six places in national production according to the SAGARPA 2003 fishing yearbook; however, these yearbooks do not publish information to distinguish it by species, which is why we cannot measure the precise impact this fishery activity has on them. Based on the previous information, in this project we will obtain relevant basic biological information of the two common elasmobranchians in traditional fisheries of the Gulf of California, sharpnose shark and cownose ray and provide the necessary elements to implement management and conservation plans for these species. With this information we intend to ensure that with the extractive activity, these species remain in time and in conditions to be exploited. Due to the lack of adequate regulations for their exploitation in the state of Sinaloa, signs of excessive exploitation are starting to show.

Up to now, the main result is the sampling database of the cownose or Cuban ray (Rhinoptera steindachneri), according to the region in the states of Nayarit, Sinaloa, and Sonora. Additionally, biological sampling and histological samples are in analysis process for reproductive studies. It is worth mentioning that this project contributes to the strategic objective that refers to anthropogenic impact in coastal ecosystems...

The problem in identifying marine food species concerns not only direct product sale to consumers, but also that which is performed between companies that provide raw materials and processed products. In fishing products that are sold refrigerated or frozen, it is relatively easy to identify the species origin by using morphological characteristics. An alternative, in case of transformed products, is to employ characteristics that remain unaltered during different production or transformation processes (canning, smoking, salting). To comply with the objective mentioned, we developed methodology and validation of an analytical test to identify species of canned tuna, and an experimental laboratory for certification. The project was concluded this semester (2009 I) and generated important results which include:

• Analytical-molecular method (based on DNA) to differentiate the product at species level in the different ways it is commercially presented;
• Economic and feasibility study;

• Comparison between selected analytic techniques to determine the best time-cost-benefit-technical demand option and infrastructure;
  
• Validation and standardization studies of the selected intra- and interinstitutional method at national level
• A prototype kit to identify tuna species based on the PCR technique ...

In the Pacific coasts of Baja California there are large submarine prairies formed by brown seaweed that emerge from the sea covering extensions of several hectares or square kilometers.

These submarine prairies represent highly productive ecosystems where a large variety of fishery resources inhabit, such as turban snail and lobster.

This project has the rocky reef ecosystem of Bahía Tortugas B.C.S. as its area of study, which is associated to the production of abalone, the basis of the economic development of the locality. The study of macroalga and seagrass exploitation is completed as to field, laboratory, and office work. With this work we confirmed the diet of selected marine herbivores, such as Megastraea undosa, Megathura crenulata, Fisurella volcano, and Tegula eiseni; information that has been recorded in two thesis documents

During 2009 we characterized macroalgal population stocks and their potential along the coasts of the state, which at present constitute a potential resource that has received little attention except for the giant kelp...

This project was developed jointly with Mexican and American institutions. It covers two main lines of research: socioeconomic and ecological aspects. The general objective is to obtain a better understanding of the factors and processes that affect the performance of coastal fisheries located along the Pacific coast in Baja California Sur in terms of sustainable exploitation, which has gained international recognition via environmental certification. Fisheries performance will be assessed in terms of fisheries productivity, economic yield, sustainability of communities and human activities, and the persistence of marine populations and ecosystems. The project will analyze the physical environment and the ecological characteristics of the exploited ecosystems, institutional arrangements, and social and economic conditions of the region...

Marine toxin effect in the metabolism of marine mollusks has been poorly documented; however, to understand its impact in ecosystems and fisheries, it is necessary to know the metabolic details subsequent to acute and sub-chronic exposure to organisms that produce marine toxins DSP (Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning) and PSP (Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning) type, which are the ones that most frequently affect the coasts of BCS.  This project is based on economic and physiological impacts of HABs (Harmful Algal Bloomings)  in fishery resources or in mollusk or fish cultures, where one of the most drastic impact is the loss of marine organisms such as  that of sea lions, pelicans, mollusks, lobsters, and fish, etc. The general objective of this project is to determine the gene expression effect in Crassostrea gigas larvae and juveniles exposed to PSP and DSP marine toxins...

Our proposal is to deal with the study of possible climate change effects on marine populations in the temperate-tropical transition area of the Mexican Pacific starting with the comparative population analysis of a species of sedentary mollusks, Panopea abrupta, which is considered particularly useful as a study model  (1) because of its extraordinary longevity, and (2) because it is not subject to mortality by predators in its adult stage. The slowness at which any selective process at population level can be fixed and because its mortality could be assumed to be essentially a result of physiological processes explain why the species is considered a good predictor of the influence of environmental factors; it also justifies the proposal that the species is an excellent model to analyze the direct effects of climate change in marine mollusk populations. For this purpose, we propose to characterize different populations of the species along the hot limit of their distribution. The results could show new evidence that could be interpreted in relation to the possible effects of climate change on these populations and environments.

The hypothesis that emerges from the previous information is that P. abrupta populations show macroecological patterns in their population dynamics and their physiological characteristic allow us to infer that the most tropical populations are more vulnerable to local extinction in relation to the most northern populations in view of possible effects of global climate change...