Bajo Cope

Bajo Cope Marine Reserve encompasses approximately 400 km² of marine habitat off the coast of Santa Elena Province in western Ecuador, centred on a shallow submerged rocky plateau on the continental shelf of the eastern Pacific Ocean. ^[1] The reserve is located roughly 10 km from the coastal community of Ayangue and 25 km from Santa Elena city. It was formally established on 29 December 2016 under Ministerial Agreement No. 130, incorporating the area into Ecuador's National System of Protected Areas (SNAP) under the marine reserve category. Bajo Cope is internationally recognised as one of the most significant sites on Ecuador's mainland coast for aggregations of the giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris), a species listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. ^[1] The reserve was created to protect critical marine biodiversity while supporting sustainable artisanal fishing practices by the communities of Palmar, Ayangue, San Pedro, and Valdivia that border the protected area.

The marine wildlife of Bajo Cope is dominated by large pelagic and reef species that gather around the seamount to exploit nutrient-rich upwelling currents. Giant oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris) are the reserve's flagship species, aggregating here in substantial numbers to filter-feed on the dense zooplankton concentrations that upwelling brings to the surface. ^[1] Whale sharks, the world's largest fish, visit the seamount seasonally during the cold-water upwelling period. Pacific green sea turtles and hawksbill sea turtles are year-round residents, foraging on reef invertebrates. The rocky substrate of the plateau supports diverse reef fish communities including barracuda, jack, parrotfish, surgeonfish, and Moorish idols. White-tipped reef sharks patrol the reef crevices, and octopuses, moray eels, and various ray species are regularly observed. Humpback whales migrate through the surrounding waters from June to September, adding a large-cetacean dimension to the reserve's wildlife profile.

The benthic community of Bajo Cope's rocky plateau consists primarily of encrusting organisms adapted to the current-swept conditions of the seamount. Hard corals including brain corals and star corals form structural foundations that provide complexity for fish and invertebrates. Soft corals, sea fans, and black corals extend from the rocky substrate into the current to filter-feed on passing plankton. Encrusting coralline red algae carpet much of the consolidated rocky surface between coral colonies and provide settlement substrate for invertebrate larvae. Sponges are a prominent component of the benthic community, filtering organic particles from the water column. The phytoplankton community in the overlying water column is exceptionally productive during the cold-upwelling season, driven by the nutrient-rich deep water that the seamount's topography draws toward the surface—the photosynthetic productivity that ultimately supports the entire food web, including the manta ray aggregations for which the reserve is known.

Bajo Cope is a submerged rocky plateau on the continental shelf of Ecuador's Santa Elena Province, rising from surrounding deeper water to depths as shallow as 15–20 metres at its crest. The seamount structure is formed from consolidated volcanic and sedimentary basement rock of the Ecuadorian coastal margin, representing part of the complex geological province generated by the long-term subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate. This tectonic setting has produced the coastal uplift that creates the sharp underwater topography of the seamount, while also generating significant seismic and volcanic activity along the broader Andean arc. The steep gradient from deep surrounding water to the shallow plateau crest is the key physical feature that drives upwelling: as deep, cold, nutrient-laden water flows across the seamount, it is deflected toward the surface, creating the productive conditions that attract large aggregations of filter-feeding megafauna. The rocky substrate composition—primarily basalt and sedimentary limestone—provides the stable hard surface required for coral and sponge colonisation.

The waters around Bajo Cope are strongly influenced by the cold Humboldt Current (Peru Current), which flows northward along the South American Pacific coast and generates pronounced cold-water upwelling along the Ecuadorian shelf. A clear seasonal pattern governs marine conditions: from June to November, southeast trade winds drive surface water offshore, intensifying upwelling and dropping sea surface temperatures to 18–22°C. This cold-water phase produces peak phytoplankton blooms and the densest concentrations of manta rays and whale sharks. From December to May, warmer equatorial surface waters push southward, raising temperatures to 24–27°C, and manta ray aggregations become less predictable, though the reef community remains active. The rainy season on the adjacent coast (December to April) coincides with the warmer marine period and generally calmer surface conditions for boat crossings from Ayangue. El Niño events can significantly elevate sea temperatures, causing coral bleaching on the seamount's reef structures.

The Santa Elena Peninsula, off whose coast Bajo Cope lies, has been continuously inhabited for over 10,000 years and hosts some of the oldest archaeological sites in South America. The Las Vegas culture (approximately 10,000–6,600 years ago) was one of the earliest settled coastal societies in the Americas and depended heavily on marine resources including fish, shellfish, and sea mammals. Subsequent coastal cultures—Valdivia, Machalilla, and Guangala—maintained sophisticated fishing traditions and long-distance maritime trade networks. The communities of Palmar, Ayangue, San Pedro, and Valdivia that border the present-day reserve are the direct cultural descendants of these traditions, and artisanal fishing has remained the foundation of the local economy through the colonial and modern periods. Local fishing families had long identified the Bajo Cope seamount as an exceptionally productive fishing ground, knowledge that eventually contributed to recognition of its ecological importance and to calls for formal protection.

Efforts to formally protect Bajo Cope gained momentum in the early 2010s as marine scientists and conservation organisations documented extraordinary concentrations of giant manta rays and other megafauna at the seamount. The area was established as Ecuador's first significant continental marine reserve on 29 December 2016, formalised through Ministerial Agreement No. 130 and published in Official Registry No. 110 on 30 October 2017. The designation process included extensive consultation with more than 500 representatives from 16 communities in Manabí and Santa Elena provinces, with WWF Ecuador supporting community engagement and management planning. The reserve's creation complemented existing marine protection at Machalilla National Park to the north, extending Ecuador's continental marine protected area network. The establishment of Bajo Cope as a marine reserve was widely regarded as an important step in addressing declining manta ray populations along Ecuador's Pacific coast.

Scuba diving at the Bajo Cope seamount is the reserve's premier activity and the primary reason most visitors travel to this section of the Santa Elena coast. The giant oceanic manta ray aggregations during the July–September upwelling peak represent one of Ecuador's most spectacular marine wildlife experiences, with divers drifting at 15–30 metre depths while rays perform barrel-roll filter feeding above them. Outside the peak manta season, whale shark sightings, sea turtles, reef sharks, and diverse reef fish make the seamount productive for diving year-round. Snorkelling is possible in calm conditions over shallower portions of the reef. The adjacent coastal community of Ayangue provides access to the El Pelado Islet Marine Reserve as a complementary dive site on the same day. From June to September, humpback whale watching from boats operating out of Ayangue adds a further wildlife dimension. The combination of manta rays, whale sharks, and humpback whales in the same region during peak season makes Santa Elena one of Ecuador's premier marine wildlife destinations.

Bajo Cope is accessed by boat from Ayangue, a small coastal community on the Santa Elena Peninsula approximately 100 km west of Guayaquil. Ayangue is reached by road from Guayaquil via the Guayaquil–Salinas highway, turning north at Santa Elena city; the drive takes approximately two hours. Several dive operators based in Ayangue offer guided trips to the seamount, providing equipment rental, guides, and boat transport. The boat crossing to the seamount takes approximately one hour under normal conditions. Locating the seamount requires GPS equipment, as the site has no surface features. Ayangue offers basic guesthouses, restaurants, and local services for overnight stays. The nearby city of Santa Elena (25 km) provides more extensive accommodation and amenities. Diving at Bajo Cope requires at least an Advanced Open Water certification due to currents and depth. The best season for manta ray encounters is July to September; however, the site is accessible year-round and offers wildlife interest in every season.

Bajo Cope Marine Reserve was created specifically to address the decline of giant oceanic manta ray populations along Ecuador's Pacific coast, a species listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to targeted fishing, bycatch in industrial nets, and the shark and ray fin trade. ^[1] Ecuador's national ban on the commercial fishing of manta rays, combined with the marine reserve designation, provides legal protection for the aggregation site. The participatory management model developed with local fishing communities aims to ensure that artisanal fishers retain access to sustainable livelihoods while the reserve's core values are protected. WWF Ecuador has conducted manta ray population monitoring to assess conservation effectiveness. The long-term viability of Bajo Cope's marine ecosystem depends substantially on the health of the Humboldt Current upwelling system; ocean warming associated with climate change and El Niño events poses a significant threat through reduced upwelling productivity and coral bleaching. Sustainable diving tourism generates economic incentives for local communities to support manta ray conservation, creating a model of marine stewardship aligned with coastal livelihoods.