Sea of Cortez
The Colorado River runs 1450 miles from the mountains of Wyoming to the Sea of Cortez south of Mexicali. But the river never reaches the sea. The entire river is diverted at the Morelos Dam and channeled into an irrigation system that feeds a massive agricultural industry.
Sea of Cortez, Baja Norte, Mexico
The Colorado River runs 1450 miles from the mountains of Wyoming to the Sea of Cortez south of Mexicali. But the river never reaches the sea. The entire river is diverted at the Morelos Dam and channeled into an irrigation system that feeds a massive agricultural industry. We released a documentary film “A Changing Delta” that tells the story of the effort by both Mexican and US NGOs to restore the river flow back to the sea. MVF filmmaker Andy Quinn produced the film along with a second film “Raise the River” produced in conjunction with the Redford Center and Sonoran Institute. This effort enabled over $4M to be raised to purchase 100,000 acre feet of water and release it below the Morelos Dam flooding the dry delta river. It was a cultural and environment win for everyone. MVF also documented the illegal fishing in the Biosphere Reserve near El Gofito, Baja Norte. When you convert a generational fishing zone to no fishing zone there are problems. The fishermen of El Gofito make 50% of their annual income fishing the spawning Corvina fish at the mouth of the Colorado River. Hard to blame the fishermen when the agriculture water diversion is what destroyed the fishery and their way of life.
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