We are a rich blend of young scientist from different backgrounds but share the passion for marine sciences and a genuine interest in the management and conservation of our natural resources. We acknowledge the need to generate baseline information of the giant sea bass, the state of its population, and understand its fishery from the scientific and community standpoint.
Project researchers
Arturo Ramirez-Valdez (Project leader/ Researcher)
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Arturo is a recipient of a UC-Mexus CONACYT fellowship to pursue his Ph.D. in Marine Biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Arturo’s expertise is mainly in fish ecology, with a focus on kelp forest and rocky intertidal ecosystems, but he also has a broad interest in marine ecology, biogeography, and marine conservation. An important part of his work is to determine the ecological importance and economic value of the kelp forests in the Southern California Bight, based on their contribution to economies in the USA and Mexico. This includes commercial and recreational fisheries, recreational activities, and susceptibilities to climate change and human-induced degradation.
"Within the Giant Sea Bass project, I am interested in generating robust scientific knowledge about this species, fill the gaps of information about its biology, and contribute to the recovery of its population. I will be looking to promote the transboundary perspective in the research for this species while maintaining a strong collaboration between different stakeholders; academy, fishermen, government, and NGO's."
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Maria Paula Sgarlatta (Project researcher)
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Paula is currently working as a technician in CICESE for the project: “Implementation of oceanographic observations networks (physical, geochemical, ecological) for the generation of scenarios related to possible contingencies related to exploration and production of oil in the deep water region of the Gulf of Mexico”. She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from UNPSJB (Argentina) and a M.Sc. in Marine Ecology from CICESE (Mexico). Paula’s main research interest is in ecology of temperate fish. In the last years, she has worked with functional diversity of the kelp forest and rocky reefs fish communities of the Mexican Eastern Pacific.
"At the Giant Sea Bass project, I am interested in generating basic information about the ecology and biology of this species. Particularly, I would like to study otoliths to obtain as much information as possible, so that we can understand the life history of this species. I think this type of information is key to understand its growth, stages of reproduction, and thus to be able to realize a better fishing management.”
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Juan Carlos Villasenor-Derbez (Project researcher)
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Juan Carlos is a recipent of the Latin American Fisheries Fellowship and CONACYT scholarship. He holds a B.Sc. in Oceanography from UABC, and a Master of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Managementand at UC Santa Barbara. Has worked tightly with fishing communities to promote sustainable fisheries and marine conservation. His work focuses in understanding the ecological and social implications of marine resource exploitation and management strategies under climate change in Latin America. Fisheries management, marine reserve design, ecological modeling, and climate change adaptation are among his main research interests.
"At the Giant Sea Bass project, I am interested in using data-limited methods to evaluate the state of the giant sea bass population. I also wish to understand how the giant sea bass fishery interacts with other fisheries in the region, and what this represents in terms of socioeconomic and ecological effects. I believe that interdisciplinary collaborations between academia and non-government organizations can identify marine environmental issues and propose effective solutions, having the greatest impact."
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Timothy J. Rowell (Project researcher)
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Timothy is currently pursuing a PhD in Marine Biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego under Dr. Octavio Aburto. His research involves using a suite of acoustic technologies to characterize fish spawning aggregations in the Gulf of California with an end goal of enhancing information available to stakeholders, resource managers, and conservationists. The majority of his work centers in understanding fish sound production and how this naturally occurring behavior can be used by researchers and managers to assess and monitor different life stages of commercially important fish species.
"While he dedicates a large portion of his time trying to better understand the spawning behaviors and abundances of Gulf Grouper (Mycteroperca jordani) and Gulf Corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus), he is infatuated with large, top predatory fishes like the Giant Sea Bass. He has participated in a number of studies looking at the movements and potential for reproductive activity and sound production of Giant Sea Bass off Catalina Island, California. He is excited to continue his education on the life history and abundance of these Giants in the waters of Mexico through active participation in this important project".
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Juan Jose Cota (Project researcher)
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José received his bachelor's degree in marine biology from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS) and has experience in the compilation of databases, ecosystem monitoring fieldwork, and fisheries monitoring surveys. He is the primary liaison between scientists and fishers in the fisheries programs in wetland areas like Bahia Magdalena and Punta Abreojos (B.C.S.), on the Pacific Ocean and on the Gulf of California including Golfo de Santa Clara (Sonora), San Felipe (B.C.), Espiritu Santo and La Partida Island (B.C.S.).
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Antonio Gomez Gomez (Project researcher)
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Lately, Anto has been working with NGOs to promote sustainable fisheries in coastal communities in the northwest of Mexico. Anto holds a B.Sc in Environmental Science from UAB (Spain), a M.Sc. in Oceanography and Coastal Management form UB-UPC (Spain) and a M.Sc. In Marine Ecology from CICESE (Mexico). Anto’s main research interest is in ecology of temperate coastal ecosystems and the social-ecological interaction with fisheries.
“My main interest in the giant sea bass project is to collaborate with academia, government agencies, civil organizations, and coastal communities to generate biological and fishing information to determined the population status in the region and set up the appropriate fishing management tools in order to ensure a sustainable fishery”
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Ricardo Dominguez-Reza (Project researcher)
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Ricardo is recipent of the CONACYT scholarship to pursue Msc. in Marine Ecology at the Center of Scientific Investigation and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE). He has worked with age and growth and demographic models of commercialy important predator species like sharks, rays, and large fish. He is interested in studying species of economic interest due to their socioeconomic and ecological relevance.
"Within the Giant Sea Bass Project, I am most interested in furthering our understanding of how giant sea bass grow, a key component of stock assesments that inform fishery management. I also aim to understand giant sea bass' vulnerability to fishing activities, and its economic, social, and ecologic implications."
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Omar Santana-Morales (Project researcher)
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Omar holds a B.Sc. from the University of Guadalajara (Mexico) and an M.Sc in Marine Ecology from CICESE (Mexico), with a specialization in Fisheries Ecology. He has an extensive experience working with artisanal fisheries in Baja California and collaborating with fishermen, for almost a decade he monitored the shark and ray catch. He also was in charge of the sea urchin and sea cucumber fisheries of Baja California at INAPESCA (Mexican fishery government agency). Currently, he is working at ECOCIMATI (Mexican NGO) where he is a founding partner and responsible for Marine Projects. Since 2014, he has been in charge of monitoring the white shark population in the Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve, conducting research aimed at the management and conservation of the species. He is also involved in the monitoring the white sea bass (Atractoscion nobilis) captured on the Pacific coast of the Baja California Peninsula through a tagging and recapture program.
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Isaí Domínguez-Guerrero (Project researcher)
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Isaí is founder and current director of KualiComunicación, a team of professionals who seek the general public to have access to scientific knowledge in a graphic and innovative way, and combines his time with his passion for photography, participating together with other colleagues in Mares Mexicanos an initiative that seeks to document the current state of the Mexican seas and raise awareness about its conservation. Isaí is a Marine Biologist with advanced studies in coastal resources management, both from the UABCS. He has worked in the conservation of mangrove and fish of Baja California Sur, doing research directed to promote better decisions for the conservation of these resources. His interests in conservation led him to join the Science Communication Dept. of CONABIO, as a specialist-advisor preparing content for dissemination through the web portal and documents and videos, and as a reviewer for the magazine Biodiversitas. He also collaborates for the section "Mexico between land and sea" of the outreach journal Ciencia y Desarrollo of CONACYT. Isaí's expertise connects the science that generates the baseline for the appropriate conservation strategies of natural resources and the mission of generating awareness and sensitivity in a broad audience.
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bmaidg@gmail.com
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Scientific advisors
Brad ErismanAssistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
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Larry G. Allen
Chair and Professor, CSU Northridge
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Matthew T. Craig
Researcher, NOAA NMFS SWFSC
Oscar Sosa-Nishizaki
Full Researcher, CICESE, Ensenada
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Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos
Full Professor, UABC, Ensenada
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