A Glimpse at the Shoreline

1st. Part, The West (Exploring the Mexican Coastline)

Documentary Series for TV & Internet

Looking to find solutions

A Glimpse at The Shoreline attempts to do an inventory of Mexicos rich biodiversity, and look at the phenomena that the coastal systems and their communities generate. Through the perspective of the people who are involved in the study, the development and the conservation of coastal systems, explore that which is at risk and the proposals being considered to stop its deterioration and promote its recovery.

Tritons and Sirens of Mxicos West Coast:

First episode

Mexico was one of the first countries to decree a Sanctuary for whales in its national waters. Whales migrate from the northern Pacific to the west and northeast of Mexico, this has allowed for a new attraction in coastline communities. For a long while, Gray whales that reach the waters of Baja California have been in the eye of scientists and scholars, leaving the Humpbacksa relegated to simple whale watchers and tourists. We want to encounter them as they come by the thousands to The Bay of Banderas, Jlatemba, Chacala Matanchen.. We have recorded many hours of these whales in and around the area of Nayarit, but to complete the documentation as they mate and give birth, were contemplating further recordings in the states of Baja California Sur, Sonora, Jalisco and Sinaloa.

The Mangroves, Natural Filters and the Water Cycle

Episodes 2 and 3

Mangroves are the most important coastal ecosystems. They host the largest environmental and social diversity. Regarded as swamps plagued by beasts nd pests in the past, today mangroves are tourist destinations for people looking for natural beauty and wild life. There are large reasMarismas Nacionales, in the states of Sinaloa and Nayarit, is the largest estuarine zone of our continent on the Pacific Ocean. To illustrate the complete water cycle, its necessary to look at the higher hydraulic systems. At their birth. The exploration of the peak of the Santiago River at the border of the states of Durango and Nayarit, will enable us to understand the nature of inundations and the important role that it plays.

Turtle Camps in the State of Nayarit

Program 4

Of seven turtlle species that used to arrive in the Mexican West Coast to lay their eggs, only three continue to do so. The myth that turtle eggs contain aphrodisiac qualities has severely reduced turtle numbers and placed them on the verge of extinction. Thanks to hundreds of volunteers and the efforts of public and private institutions,there are many encampments that struggle to save them and their number begins to recover. These segments explore the struggle between those people who protect them and the poachers that continue to steal their eggs. Also they pay homage to those who support their survival.

Insular Systems and Coral Reefs in The Mexican Pacific

Chapters 5 y 6

Coral reefs are found in both sides of the mexican coast. They are home to a large biological diversity that lives on and out of the water. These archipelagos and island systems concentrate large numbers of fish and sea creatures as well as many migratory birds that come here to lay their eggs. These isles have become stations to host scholars and organized bird watchers. In many the struggle to get rid of invading fauna has began and most are in a stage of recovery. We already have recordings of Isles Marietas and Isabel isle in Nayarit, but to complete the cycle it will be necessary to explore the Revillagigedos out on the Pacific platform and those that are found in the Sea of Cortez.

Coastline Fisheries
programs 7 y 8

Theres plenty of arguments to depict the serious damage done to the marine fauna, flora and the coral reefs, due to the activity of the commercial fisheries that comb the delicate sea bottom with their destructive nets. The disappearance of some species, the decreasing number and size of the capture of the remaining, speak of the urgency needed to review and implement creative measures to stop and transform these practices before the consequences are catastrophic in a near future. We have been recording proposals from fishing schools and scholars from the University of Nayarit, that contemplate experimental alternatives that would reduce the damage and improve the captures. These programs have been conducted with the participation of other universities in Sinaloa and Ensenada, as well as from Australia and the USA. We need to complement these segments recorded by adding others from the mentioned collaborators.

Cultural Identity

The phenomena of coastal systems can not be separated by regions. The natural character and the anthropogenic circumstances repeat themselves with little variation throughout the Mexican Littoral. The series attempts to develop the recordings within the daily life of the people that converges in the coast. As we explore the West Coast of Mexico, its history and the nature of the places and its inhabitants, we propose to unveil its principal cultural characteristics that form its rich identity.

To look at the shoreline to care for it

Producer: Juan M. Gonzlez D., has developed for The Latin-American Institute for Educational Communication, North from Mexico, for Channel 22 in Mexico City The Other Mexico,. Among others he produced and directed the feature films, Ebb Tide T al P, and has participated in films and TV in Mexico and the USA in titles such as Harsh Times, Sony Pictures, The Shield and Man On Fire, FOX, Coronado, Uncharted Territory, Voices of 46, History Channel and many others.

The images on this presentation correspond to frames of the more than 240 hours that we have recorded in digital video in the states of Nayarit and Jalisco, Mexico. To complete the Mexican West Coast, we contemplate recordings in the states of Baja California, Sonora and Sinaloa. The cost to finish this first part, that consists of 8 programs with a duration of 52 minutes each, is of one million five hundred, fifty nine thousand six hundred and thirty five mexican pesos. ($ 1,559,635.00)