Bahía Kino: Difference between revisions

Bahia Kino
Geography
Location	Gulf of California
Coordinates	28°49′00″N 111°56′00″W / 28.81667°N 111.93333°W
Administration
	Mexico
Demographics
Population	7,000

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Revision as of 02:57, 16 July 2013

Hasteecöla peaks which overlook west end of New Kino

Bahía Kino is a town in the Mexican state of Sonora, Hermosillo (municipality), on the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California); it was named after Eusebio Kino. The name also applies to the adjacent bay between Tiburón Island and Punta San Nicolás, Sonora. The names Bahía de Kino, Bahía Kino and Kino Bay are used interchangeably.

History

The historic residents of the Bahia de Kino region were probably first documented in notes taken by Padre Eusebio Kino during his travels to the region in 1685 when he visited the bay and named it Bahia San Juan Bautista (Doode 1999). The local indigenous population was widely dispersed in small hunter-gatherer groups ranging from the Guaymas area as far north as present day Puerto Libertad. They called themselves Comcaac (Seri). The harsh environment of the coastal region dictated that the Comcaac live with a high degree of flexibility and resourcefulness, a characteristic that allowed them to remain free of contact with, and exploitation by, the Spaniards.

Although later Spanish expeditions to the region undertook to develop contacts with the various Comcaac groups, it is apparent from the record that the Comcaac remained autonomous and were never formally conquered (Griffen 1959). It was not until they formed economic bonds out of necessity – probably the need to purchase gasoline for outboard motors used on their small wooden boats during the late 1950s – that they started down the path of social and economic integration into wider Mexican culture (Felger & Moser 1991, Weaver et al. 2003). Wandering groups of Comcaac routinely passed through the Kino area, using cave shelters in the vicinity though there is scant evidence of any permanent presence in the immediate area.

The first Mestizo settlers to settle in the Bahia de Kino area arrived in the early 1920s to establish a small fishing camp near the site of the present day town. Fishing activity centered on the Totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) a species much sought after and reported as abundant around nearby Isla Alcatraz (Chute, 1928, Bahre 2000, Doode 1999).

In 1922, Yates Holmes, an American, secured a federal concession for almost 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land in Bahia de Kino and developed a hunting and fishing camp that became known as the Kino Bay Club. It operated through 1931(Bowen 2000). The Kino Bay Club marked the beginning of a long history of association between the Mexican residents of Bahia de Kino and visitors from the United States.

In 1935 the first fisher cooperative – La Sociedad Cooperativa de Produccíon Pesquera Lázaro Cárdenas – was formed with 25 members (probably comprising most of the adult male population on Bahia de Kino at the time).

The late 1930s saw the rapid development of the shark fishery that supplied shark liver oil to the U.S. for use in the production of vitamin A supplements (Doode 1999, Bahre & Bourillon 2002). By 1945 the population had grown considerably to about 500 inhabitants all of whom were involved primarily with fisheries (Weaver et al. 2003). The region in general was growing as well. The establishment of the local Distrito de Colonización Presidente Miguel Alemán^{[disambiguation needed]} between Hermosillo and Bahia de Kino coupled with the recent availability of subterranean water pumping technology allowed for large scale, regional agrarian development.

The mid-1940s marked the beginning the industrial shrimp fishery in the Gulf of California. Shrimp boats, usually displacing less than 100 tons, and operating primarily out of Guaymas, began trawling for shrimp in the waters of Bahia de Kino. These boats were generally crewed by fishers from Guaymas and, initially at least, had little interaction with fishers from the Kino area (Weaver et al. 2003).

Felger and Moser report that in 1952 Kino Bay “…was a fishing village with less than a hundred inhabitants, several bars, no school and no electricity.” (1985, p. 17). This report is either a) inaccurate or b) correct and the population had fallen from the 1945 figure of 500 reported by Weaver et al. (2003).

In 1953, the road to Hermosillo was paved (Bowen 2000) allowing for increased sales of fisheries products and easier access to lucrative state and national markets. 245 hectares of federal land were set aside that year for the growth of the village while an additional 868 hectares was assigned to Kino to be developed into lots for tourist infrastructure for the recreational use of Mexican nationals. It was hoped that this would generate employment opportunities outside of the fishery for Kino residents in the construction and service sectors of the local economy (Wong 1999).

The 1960s witnessed the early development of the scallop (callo) fishery in the bay. The sand banks in the south of the bay were a primary source of callo with fishers free diving from their boats to harvest the abundant callo beds in the immediate area. Around 1974, the first air compressor diving rigs were developed (Cudney-Bueno 2000). The use of air compressors allowed fishers to operate at greater depths and for longer periods of time, increasing productivity per outing (Doode 1999).

The 1970s saw a dramatic increase in the population of Bahia de Kino during which the town grew from just a few hundred residents to several thousand. Most of the new residents were immigrants to the region, some from as far south as Michoacán, other from the deserts of Chihuahua and Coahuila. Most had little fishing or boating experience, the developing fishery offered steady employment at a time when many of Mexico’s rural ejidos or cooperative farming and ranching communities were suffering economic setbacks and low productivity (Simon 1997). In 1975, the Mexican government placed a ban on totoaba fishing – the fishery had been decimated, primarily due to over-fishing at spawning grounds at the mouth of the Colorado River (Bahre & Bourillon 2002).

From the early 1980s through until the late 1990s the Bahia de Kino fishery increased both in intensity and extent. More fishers in more boats operating over an ever increasing area kept regional production levels in positive growth. The national economic crisis during this period resulted in a new influx of immigrants to the area (Doode 1999).

Trapping for crab (Callinectes bellicosus) became an important addition to Kino fishing effort starting about 1990 (Weaver et al. 2003). It is unclear if Kineño fishers had utilized benthic trapping technology prior to the development of the crab fishery .

Several shrimp mariculture operations began operations around the Bahía de Kino area in the late 1990s and into the present. The local socioeconomic impact of these operations has not been studied. It is unknown if local fishers have interacted with these operations in any economically meaningful way.

Present

Bahia de Kino is home to between 5,000 and 7,000 permanent residents. The area is visited by both local and international tourists. There is a small, but active population of foreign residents, many of whom have built homes in town.

The town is administered as part of the municipality of Hermosillo. It is located on land that was part of the traditional territory of the Seri people who now live to the north on their communal property.

Despite the town's location and economic importance, there are no harbor or port facilities (other than the Port Captain's office). All fishing activities are based off the beach to the southwest of town. Two public boat ramps are available; one outh-east of town at Estero Santa Cruz and a second 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of town.

Local people differentiate between Kino Viejo ('Old Kino', the site of the original village and main commercial center today) and Kino Nuevo ('New Kino'). The latter refers to the homes, motels, RV parks, and restaurants that line the coast for several miles north-west of Kino Viejo.

References

Bahre, Conrad J. and Luis Bourillón. 2002. Human Impact in the Midriff Islands. In: A New Island Biogeography of the Sea of Cortés. Case, Ted J., Martin L. Cody & Exequiel Ezcurra (eds.). 2002. New York: Oxford University Press.

Bourillón, Luis. 1996. Actividad Humana en la region de las grandes Islas del Golfo de California, Mexico. Tesis de Maestría. Centro de Conservación a Aprovechamiento de los Recursos Naturales. ITESM – Campus Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Bowen, Thomas. 2000. Unknown Island: Seri Indians, Europeans, and San Esteban Island in the Gulf of California. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press

Case, Ted J., Martin L. Cody & Exequiel Ezcurra (eds.). 2002. A New Island Biogeography of the Sea of Cortés. New York: Oxford University Press.

Chute, G.R. 1928. The Totoava fishery in the Gulf of California. California Fish and Game Bulletin 14:275-281

COBI (Cominidad y Biodiversidad, A. C.) 2004. Memoria de la Reunión De Pescador a Pescador: Buscando mejorar la pesca a través de las reserves marinas. Bahía de Kino, Sonora 21-24 de Marzo de 2003. Guaymas, Son.: Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A.C.

Doode, M.S. 1999. La Pesca de Pequena Escala: Principales obstáculos para su regulación. El case de Bahía de Kino, Sonora. Programa Golfo de California. Presentado a Conservación International A. C. Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo A. C. Mexico

Felger, R. S. and M. B. Moser. 1991. People of the desert and sea. Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians. Tucson: University of Arizona. 2nd edition.

Griffen, William. B. 1959. Notes on Seri Indian Culture, Sonora, Mexico. Latin American Monographs 10. Gainesville: University of Florida Press.

McGee, W. J. Trails to Tiburón: The 1894 and 1895 Field Diaries of W J McGee, transcribed by Hazel McFeely Fontana, annotated and with an introduction by Bernard L. Fontana. 2000

Moreno Rivera, César & Amy Hudson Weaver, Luis Bourillón Moreno, Jorge Torre, Cosío, Janitzio Égido Villareal, Mario Rojo Amaya. 2005. Diagnóstico Ambiental y Socioeconómico de la Región Marina Costera de Bahía de Kino, Isla Tiburón, Sonora México: Documento de trabajo y discusión para promover un desarrollo sustentable. Guaymas, Sonora: Comunidad y Biodiversidad

Simon, Joel. 1997. Endangered Mexico. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Weaver, Amy H., Janitzio Égido, Luis Bourillón Moreno, César Moreno Rivera and Jorge Torre Cosio. 2003. Estudio Previo Justicativo para Proponer Establecimiento de un Área Natural Protegida en Bahía de Kino, Sonora (Primera Edición). Guaymas, Sonora: Comunidad y Biodiversidad.

Wong, P. 1999. H. Propuesta Téchnica del Programa de Desarrollo Sustenable de Kino-Isla Tiburón. Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo A.C.

Ziebell, Martin. 2007. Ninety Years of Fishing: The Small-scale Fishing Fleet of Bahia de Kino, Sonora, Mexico. Prescott, Arizona: Prescott College Masters Thesis.

External links

es:Bahía de Kino Spanish version - more information and history
[1] Kino Bay - Multi-language version - Complete Portal and Community Forum and Blog
[2] Bahía de Kino - Spanish version - Full services listings
[3] Prescott College Center for Cultural and Ecological Studies, Bahía de Kino, Prescott College A.C.
[4] Weather and climate data for Bahia de Kino

28°59′N 111°56′W / 28.983°N 111.933°W / 28.983; -111.933

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 == History ==
-The first documentation of the historic residents of the Bahia de Kino region were probably in the form of notes taken by Padre [[Eusebio Kino]] during his travels to the region in 1685 when he visited the bay and named it Bahia San Juan Bautista (Doode 1999).  The local indigenous population was widely dispersed in small hunter-gatherer groups ranging from the Guaymas area as far north as present day Puerto Libertad.  They called themselves Comcaac ([[Seri people|Seri]]).  The harsh environment of the coastal region dictated that the Comcaac live with a high degree of flexibility and resourcefulness, a characteristic that allowed them to remain free of contact with, and exploitation by, the [[Spaniards]].
+The historic residents of the Bahia de Kino region were probably first documented in notes taken by Padre [[Eusebio Kino]] during his travels to the region in 1685 when he visited the bay and named it Bahia San Juan Bautista (Doode 1999).  The local indigenous population was widely dispersed in small hunter-gatherer groups ranging from the Guaymas area as far north as present day Puerto Libertad.  They called themselves Comcaac ([[Seri people|Seri]]).  The harsh environment of the coastal region dictated that the Comcaac live with a high degree of flexibility and resourcefulness, a characteristic that allowed them to remain free of contact with, and exploitation by, the [[Spaniards]].
-Although later Spanish expeditions to the region undertook to develop contacts with the various  Comcaac groups, it is apparent from the record that the  Comcaac remained autonomous and were never formally conquered (Griffen 1959).  It was not until they formed economic bonds out of necessity – probably the need to purchase gasoline for outboard motors used on their small wooden boats during the late 1950s – that they started down the path of social and economic integration into wider [[Mexican culture]] (Felger & Moser 1991, Weaver ''et al.'' 2003).  Wandering groups of  Comcaac routinely passed through the Kino area, using cave shelters in the vicinity though there is scant evidence of any permanent presence in the immediate area.
+Although later Spanish expeditions to the region undertook to develop contacts with the various Comcaac groups, it is apparent from the record that the  Comcaac remained autonomous and were never formally conquered (Griffen 1959).  It was not until they formed economic bonds out of necessity – probably the need to purchase gasoline for outboard motors used on their small wooden boats during the late 1950s – that they started down the path of social and economic integration into wider [[Mexican culture]] (Felger & Moser 1991, Weaver ''et al.'' 2003).  Wandering groups of  Comcaac routinely passed through the Kino area, using cave shelters in the vicinity though there is scant evidence of any permanent presence in the immediate area.
 The first [[Mestizo]] settlers to settle in the Bahia de Kino area arrived in the early 1920s to establish a small fishing camp near the site of the present day town.  Fishing activity centered on the [[Totoaba]] (Totoaba ''macdonaldi'') a species much sought after and reported as abundant around nearby Isla Alcatraz (Chute, 1928, Bahre 2000, Doode 1999).
-In 1922, Yates Holmes, an American secured a federal concession for almost {{convert|6000|acre|km2}} of land in Bahia de Kino and developed a hunting and fishing camp that became known as the Kino Bay Club.  It operated through 1931(Bowen 2000).  The Kino Bay Club marked the beginning of a long history of association between the Mexican residents of Bahia de Kino and visitors from the United States.
+In 1922, Yates Holmes, an American, secured a federal concession for almost {{convert|6000|acre|km2}} of land in Bahia de Kino and developed a hunting and fishing camp that became known as the Kino Bay Club.  It operated through 1931(Bowen 2000).  The Kino Bay Club marked the beginning of a long history of association between the Mexican residents of Bahia de Kino and visitors from the United States.
 In 1935 the first fisher cooperative – La Sociedad Cooperativa de Produccíon Pesquera Lázaro Cárdenas – was formed with 25 members (probably comprising most of the adult male population on Bahia de Kino at the time).