Sea Of Cortez

In March 1940 John Steinbeck and Edward F. Ricketts began serious preparation for a six week biological expedition to the Gulf of California which they designate by its earlier name the Sea of Cortez. Ricketts the owner of the small Pacific Biological Laboratories in Monterey California had long been interested in the invertebrate marine life of the California coast. Steinbeck’s best friend for eighteen years old he exerted a profound.

They had went around Baja and back because Their goal was to collect samples of the creatures living in the intertidal zone along what was then a little explored coastline. But more than that they just wanted to be themselves, a writer and a scientist in search of a natural philosophy to guide them in a world about to come apart at the seams.

On the surface the Sea of Cortez remains the same timeless. But underneath it has changed like all the oceans of the world. We will explore those changes through surveying species and scientific comparisons. I will talk about what they mean and what can be done here to bring us back from the brink. And we will meet with Mexican scientists activists and local residents who value the Sea of Cortez and represent the best hope for its future. Each week on the voyage we will invite a Mexican scientist to travel with us conduct research and share findings.