On the coast of San Carlos, one of Sonora’s four Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) – and part of the municipality of Guaymas – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo inaugurated the first phase of the Underwater Museum of the Sonoran Artificial Reef System (SAAS) this Sunday.
The former ship Cabo Corrientes joins four other vessels lying on the seabed in the bay of San Carlos, the Pueblo Mágico with the most spectacular views of the Gulf of California.
This SAAS ecotourism project aims to be one of the most important in Latin America, with the goal of promoting environmental protection and sustainability, as each artifact undergoes a cleaning process before being sunk.
Ship sinking adds to Sonora’s artificial reef
The Sonoran Artificial Reef System began in 2022 with the sinking of the former ship Santos PO106; Currently, there are five artificial reefs in the Sonoran Reef System, including Cabo Corrientes, whose detonation and sinking were officially initiated by Mayor Sheinbaum.
The artificial reef is located near Cerro Tetakawi, an emblematic hill of the Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town) of San Carlos, and is part of the stunning landscape where the mountains and sea meet.
According to information released during the sinking ceremony, the structure at the bottom of the sea is shaped like an anchor, and abundant marine life is already reported. In addition to the ships, there are pieces of naval artillery, a helicopter, an amphibious vehicle, and the fuselage of an airplane.
Among the species already inhabiting the Sonoran Artificial Reef System are oysters, sardines, starfish, octopuses, coral butterflyfish, yellow snapper, grunt, and snailfish. This first phase, carried out by the Navy, is just over 70 percent complete, with 10 of the 15 planned structures already built.
Since 2022, the SAAS (Sea Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources System) has already established a population of nearly two thousand organisms from at least 10 species of marine invertebrates; approximately nine thousand fish have also been recorded.
These figures are encouraging, as, according to Sonora authorities, they reflect the ecological success of this project, which is emerging as a low-impact tourist attraction, comparable to the artificial reefs of the Caribbean; and what better place than the paradise dubbed the “Aquarium of the World” by the French explorer Jacques Cousteau.
Source: escapadah
