Bajo Cope

Bajo Cope is a marine reserve located off the coast of Santa Elena Province in Ecuador, situated approximately one hour by boat from the coastal town of Ayangue. The reserve encompasses a shallow underwater plateau stretching approximately 10 kilometers in length along the continental shelf of the Ecuadorian Pacific coast, between the communities of Palmar, Ayangue, San Pedro, and Valdivia. Managed by Ecuador's Ministerio del Ambiente, Bajo Cope is renowned among divers and marine biologists as one of the premier sites in Ecuador for encounters with giant oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris), earning it an informal reputation as the capital of the giant manta ray on the Ecuadorian coast. The reserve protects a shallow seamount ecosystem of exceptional ecological value that serves as a critical feeding and aggregation site for large pelagic species and concentrations of resident reef fish.

The marine wildlife of Bajo Cope is extraordinary in its diversity and abundance, centered on the spectacular aggregations of giant oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris) that gather at the seamount to feed on the rich zooplankton concentrations that upwelling brings to the surface. During the peak season from July to September, dozens of manta rays may be encountered simultaneously on a single dive, performing elegant barrel rolls as they filter-feed in the nutrient-rich water column. Whale sharks, the largest fish on earth, are also seasonal visitors to Bajo Cope, appearing primarily during the cold-water upwelling season. Sea turtles including Pacific green turtles and hawksbill turtles are year-round residents, foraging on reef invertebrates. The reef structure supports large schools of barracuda, Moorish idols, surgeonfish, parrotfish, angelfish, and countless other reef species. Octopuses, moray eels, and white-tipped reef sharks shelter in the rocky crevices of the seamount plateau.

The underwater ecosystem of Bajo Cope is characterized by a benthic community dominated by hard and soft corals, encrusting coralline algae, and sponges that colonize the rocky substrate of the shallow plateau. Hard coral formations including brain corals, star corals, and finger corals provide structural complexity that supports a high diversity of invertebrate and fish species. Soft corals and sea fans extend their filtering branches into the current, trapping plankton from the productive upwelling waters. Dense beds of encrusting red and coralline algae carpet areas of the rocky substrate between coral colonies. The phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in the water column above the seamount are exceptionally productive due to the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water from depth, forming the base of the food web that ultimately supports the manta ray aggregations for which the reserve is famous. Seagrass beds are found in shallower sandy areas closer to shore.

Bajo Cope is a submerged rocky plateau or shallow seamount on the continental shelf of the eastern Pacific Ocean, formed from volcanic and sedimentary basement rock of the coastal Ecuadorian continental margin. The plateau rises relatively steeply from the surrounding seafloor to depths as shallow as 15 to 20 meters, creating the sharp topographic gradient that drives nutrient-rich water toward the surface through upwelling. The rocky substrate of the seamount consists primarily of consolidated volcanic basalt and sedimentary limestone, providing a stable hard substrate for coral and sponge colonization. The broader continental shelf of Santa Elena Province is part of the Ecuadorian coastal margin that has experienced significant tectonic activity associated with the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate. The shallow depth and rocky topography of Bajo Cope are the primary geological features responsible for its ecological significance, channeling cold upwelling currents and concentrating marine life in accessible waters.

The waters around Bajo Cope are influenced by the cool Humboldt Current (also known as the Peru Current), which flows northward along the South American Pacific coast and generates cold-water upwelling along the Ecuadorian shelf. This upwelling creates a pronounced seasonal pattern in water conditions, with coolest and most productive waters occurring between June and November when southeast trade winds are strongest and drive surface water offshore. Sea surface temperatures drop to as low as 18 to 22 degrees Celsius during this cold season, triggering the plankton blooms that attract manta rays and whale sharks to Bajo Cope. From December to May, warmer equatorial waters push south, raising sea temperatures to 24 to 27 degrees Celsius, and the manta ray aggregations become less predictable. Surface conditions are generally calmer from January to May, while the cold season brings stronger winds and occasional choppy conditions on the one-hour boat crossing from Ayangue.

The Santa Elena Peninsula, off whose coast Bajo Cope lies, has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years and hosts some of the oldest archaeological sites in Ecuador. The Las Vegas culture, dating from approximately 10,000 to 6,600 years ago, was among the earliest settled coastal societies in South America and relied heavily on marine resources including fish, shellfish, and sea mammals. The region later supported the Valdivia, Machalilla, and Guangala cultures, all of which maintained sophisticated fishing traditions and coastal trade networks. The fishing communities of Palmar, Ayangue, San Pedro, and Valdivia that adjoin the present-day reserve are the direct descendants of these traditions, and artisanal fishing has remained central to the local economy throughout the colonial and modern periods. The seamount known as Bajo Cope has long been known to local fishermen as a reliable fishing ground where large concentrations of fish could be found, knowledge that later contributed to its designation as a protected area.

Bajo Cope Marine Reserve was established as a protected area under Ecuador's Ministry of Environment to safeguard the exceptional marine biodiversity of the Santa Elena coastal zone, particularly the manta ray aggregation sites that had become threatened by fishing pressure on the seamount. The reserve creation process involved extensive community consultation, with more than 500 representatives from 16 communities in Manabí and Santa Elena provinces participating in the development of management plans, with technical support from WWF Ecuador and the Ministry of Environment. This participatory approach was designed to ensure that the conservation goals of the reserve were aligned with the livelihood needs of local fishing communities. The reserve operates under a moderately restrictive fishing protection regime, with species-specific and gear-specific restrictions that aim to reduce bycatch of manta rays and other non-target species while permitting sustainable artisanal fishing in designated zones. International diving tourism has grown steadily as awareness of the manta ray encounters has spread through the global dive community.

Scuba diving at Bajo Cope is the premier activity and the primary reason most visitors make the journey to the Santa Elena coast, with the giant oceanic manta ray encounters during the July to September upwelling season representing one of the most spectacular wildlife experiences available in Ecuador. Divers typically enter the water at depths of 15 to 30 meters and drift with the current across the rocky plateau while mantas glide overhead in their barrel-roll feeding behavior. The diversity of reef fish, sharks, turtles, and invertebrates makes every dive productive regardless of season. Snorkeling is possible in calmer conditions closer to the reef crest. The nearby coastal town of Ayangue offers a sheltered beach and the adjacent El Pelado Islet Marine Reserve as an additional dive destination accessible on the same trip. Boat-based whalewatching for humpback whales is available between June and September as these giants migrate through the coastal waters of Ecuador. The combination of manta rays, whale sharks, and humpback whales in a single region during peak season makes the Santa Elena coast a world-class marine wildlife destination.

Access to Bajo Cope requires boat transport from Ayangue, a small coastal town on the Santa Elena Peninsula approximately 100 kilometers west of Guayaquil. Ayangue is reached by road from Guayaquil via the Guayaquil–Salinas highway, turning north toward the coast at Santa Elena city. The drive from Guayaquil takes approximately two hours. Several dive operators based in Ayangue offer guided dive trips to Bajo Cope, providing equipment rental, dive guides, and boat transport. The crossing takes approximately one hour in normal conditions, and navigation to the seamount requires GPS or underwater sonar equipment as the site offers no surface landmarks. Ayangue has a range of small guesthouses, restaurants, and basic services to support overnight stays. The best diving conditions and highest likelihood of manta ray encounters occur between July and September, but the site is diveable year-round. Divers should have an Advanced Open Water certification at minimum due to currents and depths.

Bajo Cope Marine Reserve was created specifically to address the declining populations of giant oceanic manta rays along the Ecuadorian Pacific coast, a species listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to fishing pressure, bycatch in industrial nets, and shark fin trade incidentally impacting rays. Ecuador banned the commercial fishing of manta rays and shark fins nationally, and the marine reserve provides an added layer of protection for this critical aggregation site. The participatory management model developed with local communities aims to prevent the reserve from undermining artisanal fishing livelihoods while building community stewardship for conservation. WWF Ecuador has conducted monitoring programs to track manta ray population trends and assess the effectiveness of the protection measures. Climate change poses a long-term threat through alterations to the Humboldt Current upwelling system that sustains the productivity of Bajo Cope's waters, and ocean warming events have caused coral bleaching on the reef structures. Sustainable diving tourism is promoted as a revenue stream that creates economic incentives for local communities to support the continued protection of manta rays and reef habitat.