Migration of Whales in Mexico
If you’re interested in the aquatic habitat in Mexico, you’ll find that there are many types of marine life in the Gulf. There all kinds of sea animals during certain seasons that travelers can watch or catch. Whatever your reason for wanting to learn more about the migration of whales and fish in Mexico, you’ll find that the marine life here is wonderful. Below, you will find a couple of the whales and fish that are known to migrate to Mexico.
Gray Whales
Each year, thousands of gray whales are known to migrate to Mexico. Their journey takes them 6,000 miles away from the cold waters of the Chukchi and Bering Seas. They begin their migration from the cooler waters to the warm waters of the central Pacific Ocean in mid-December and it ends in March. These large fish can be spotted throughout Mexico and California. They are particularly grouped together in places like the Cabo San Lucas and Bahia Magdelena. Most can spot the whales from land.
Magdalena Bay is a sheltered low barrier or islands that provide a warm home to hundreds of the gray whales. Around the tip of Baja, other fish can be seen, including Blue whales, Finback whales and Humpback whales.
Cobia Fish
Cobia fish, also known as crabeater, ling and lemonfish can be seen throughout the Gulf of Mexico. As you can see from one of its nicknames, it loves to eat crabs. They can be found around floating debris, buoys, bells, seaweed rips, floating sea turtles and channel markers. You can identify these fish by observing its brown backs – one stripe being darker that extends across their entire sides. Underneath, they are white. Cobia fish also have a couple of small finlets that are located above the dorsal fin. When looking down on them, they tend to resemble sharks. They resemble greatly to sharksuckers.
Flounder Fish
Another fish commonly found in Mexico is the flounder fish, also known as doormats and lefteye flounders. These peculiar fish have this nickname because they have two left eyes. Both of their eyes are on the left side, leaving the right side eyeless. You can find flounders on mud, sand bottoms and in shallow low-salinity waters near the shore. They are known to migrate through fresh waters, sometimes as far as 100 miles up rivers. They have a distinct laterally compressed body. Their right side of the body is white and their left side is olive brown with dark and white spots. They undergo a slow migration when the water cools gradually or a rapid migration if a strong cold front comes. They tend to migrate between the first cold front and March.
The Gulf of Mexico is a great place to watch and catch fish. Make sure that if you plan to visit Mexico that you purchase travelers insurance. This will ensure that you will have coverage in case you or someone in your group gets hurt.
Learn more about Mexico traveler insurance by visiting West Coast Insurance.