Ramón Bonfil

Who I am

I am an internationally recognised elasmobranch researcher with more than 35 years of experience in the conservation, fisheries management, biology and ecology of this fantastic group of fish. My background includes an MSc from University of Bangor, UK, and a PhD from the University of British Columbia, Canada. I have worked at the National Fisheries Institute (Mexico), Far Seas Fisheries Research Institute of Japan, the FAO (Rome, Italy), PERSGA (Red Sea), the Wildlife Conservation Society, MARVIVA (Eastern Tropical Pacific) and two federal universities in Brazil. I am a founding member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, and since March 2022 I have been a national research chair for EcoSur in Mexico. My work has addressed a host of subjects in elasmobranch research (some of which I have pioneered), such as taxonomy, determination of age and growth, reproduction, fisheries, marine protected areas, population dynamics modelling, mathematical evaluation of stock assessment models, ecosystem modelling, the study of migration patterns and spatial dynamics using satellite tags, and the application of eDNA for shark conservation. My work with great white sharks in South Africa, New Zealand and Mexico produced breakthrough findings about the species’ ecology. My conservation research and policy work were instrumental in getting the great white shark listed in Appendix II of CITES in 2004 and for obtaining better protection laws for all Pristis and Mobula species that occur in Mexico in 2019. My publications have been cited over 8,000 times by my peers. After spending 25 years overseas, I returned to my native Mexico in 2014, founded the conservation NGO Océanos Vivientes AC in 2015 and started conservation research projects for devil rays and Critically Endangered sawfish in Mexico. I carried out the first nation-wide survey to assess the conservation status of sawfish in Mexico and continue to look for them using eDNA, fishing gear and drones.

Where I work

Nowadays I work in the Mexican Caribbean, which comprises the coast of the Quintana Roo state in south-eastern Mexico. Here the lush tropical forest meets white sandy beaches produced by the second largest coral barrier reef system in the world. The coast of Quintana Roo has at least six large coastal lagoons or bays that were once full of all kinds of fish and other marine animals, including turtles and manatees. Unfortunately, in the 1970s the government started to develop Cancún as an international tourism destination – and the rest is history … a sad history. The impacts of human growth and encroachment in the coastal area are causing a myriad of problems. Sharks have been exploited here by fisheries since the 1950s, but the 1970s saw huge growth in this activity. The development of facilities for tourism (resorts, restaurants and bars, docking piers for cruises, marinas) has also had an impact on and reduced coastal habitats for all species. Despite this, some of the most beautiful coastal areas can still be found here. A decent system of national protected areas includes a few biosphere reserves, national parks and Areas for the Protection of Flora and Fauna (APFF). My project takes place in Yalahau Lagoon, inside the Yum Balam APFF, and in Bahía de la Ascensión, inside Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. Both are beautiful areas with amazing landscapes and wildlife. Holbox, a well-known tourism destination is part of Yalahau Lagoon. However, the quiet and less-known Punta Allen is the main human settlement in Bahía de la Ascensión. In both places one can find nurse, lemon and bull sharks, as well as Atlantic, chupare, southern and yellow stingrays, spotted eagle rays – and probably more elasmobranchs. Marine turtles and manatees are also common in Ascensión.

What I do

Lately, I have spent most of my time on two projects: studying the migrations of manta rays in the Mexican Caribbean; and finding and protecting the last few sawfish in Mexico. But now I am about to begin studying two important coastal areas in the Mexican Caribbean to find out which sharks and rays use them as nurseries.
For the first project, we deploy satellite tags on mantas to study their horizontal and vertical movements for several months at a time. Both difficult and exhilarating, this involves free diving to attach the tags. As I go to sea for each expedition, I am always filled with joy and awe while swimming alongside these beautiful ‘flying’ giant sea-creatures.
For the sawfish project, we interview fishers in coastal towns where we know sawfish used to exist. This enables us to reconstruct the history of their distribution and decline and to define the best areas to look for them. However, the most beautiful part involves surveying coastal waters trying to find sawfish by using drones in areas with good water transparency and by employing monitored fishing gear and innovative environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques. For eDNA, we take many water samples and then find out in a lab if they contain sawfish DNA. This tells us whether or not sawfish still exist in a given place.
Most of my work involves spending long hours in front of my computer planning my work, analysing data, writing publications or lectures and seeking funding. But I also spend several weeks every year in a boat around beautiful mangroves, coastal lagoons, islands or coral reefs that host many amazing species of birds, fish, marine mammals and sharks and rays. My next project, studying shark nurseries, will involve much of the same type of work and field expeditions as my sawfish project.