About Us

Dr. James Ketchum

Project coordinator

Director of Marine Conservation. He has studied sharks and migratory pelagic species since 1998 and holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis. James is a marine ecologist, specializing in the movement ecology of top predators and the design of marine reserves. He carried out pioneering work on the movement patterns and habitat use of hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos Islands and participated in the first telemetric studies of sharks in Cocos, Malpelo, Galapagos and Revillagigedo Archipelago, during which he co-founded MigraMar in 2006. James has published close to 60 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious journals, a Member of the National System of Researchers of Mexico, level II, and a Mission Blue Hope Spot Champion for the Gulf of California. He is the director of the documentary “Sharks of the Sea of Cortés: A Lost Treasure?” (2021), produced by Pelagios Kakunjá and Azul Océano, and Sylvia A. Earle as executive producer. He works closely with artisanal fishers, the Mexican Commission for Natural Protected Areas, and other organizations to create new marine protected areas and to improve the effectiveness of existing ones for the conservation of sharks and pelagic fish in the Gulf of California and Mexican Pacific. James has spent a good portion of his professional career working with artisanal and sports fishers in Mexico and Ecuador to catch and study sharks and pelagic fish to understand their movements and ecology, including marine reserve design based on their spatial utilization.

David McGuire

Project liaison

David is the Founder and Director of the shark and marine conservation nonprofit “Shark Stewards”. A marine biologist, David is a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences where he conducts shark studies and media production from California to China. Shark Stewards introduced the first North American shark fin trade ban in California and led several states and international movements limiting the overfishing of sharks and the shark fin trade. Shark Stewards actively partners with NOAA in our National Marine Sanctuaries and the Ocean Protection Council in our California marine protected areas, where he is Co-chair of a California MPA collaborative committee. A documentary filmmaker, David received an Emmy for Field Production and Camera on the documentary “Reefs to Rainforests” on the Biodiversity Expedition in the Philippines with the California Academy of Sciences and has numerous awards for his conservation documentaries. Since 2007 he has been involved with the International Ocean Film Festival as a contributor, screener, and programmer, and hosts the popular shark program. He is a National Geographic Explorer with an adventure column and has written and contributed to numerous publications and books, including publishing a new shark science book for youth: Sharks for Kids. He is a popular public speaker on sharks and the ocean, is a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley and adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco. David will act as project liaison with Pelagica Kakunja between the funding foundation, monitoring progress and facilitating the project among the team. He will also serve as the media developer and content director for media development with the PK team and ensure accurate documentation of the project and messaging is delivered.

Carmen Koepfer

Socioeconomic analyst and facilitator

Carmen is a marine biologist specializing in shark conservation, an educator, and a dedicated advocate for ocean preservation. A native of Mexico, she earned her degree in biology with a specialization in marine biology from the Instituto Tecnológico de Boca del Río, Veracruz (ITBOCA).
She began her collaboration with Pelagios Kakunjá as a volunteer in 2013, actively participating in various research projects involving the tagging and monitoring of sharks, particularly in the Sea of Cortez and the Cabo Pulmo region. This field experience led her to pursue a Master's degree at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), conducting her thesis research in association with Pelagios Kakunjá. She graduated in 2018 with her thesis “Effects of scuba diving on the behavior of bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) and economic value of the species in Cabo Pulmo National Park.” Following her graduation, she continued as a staff member at Pelagios Kakunjá, contributing to the development of educational programs and supporting the production of documentaries such as “The Blue Quest” and “Sharks of the Sea of Cortez: A Lost Treasure?”
In 2019, she relocated to California to broaden her scope of work. There, she serves as an educator at the Ocean Institute and advocates for shark protection with the non-profit Shark Stewards. She currently holds the role of Socioeconomic Study Analyst for a key collaborative project between Pelagios Kakunjá and Shark Stewards, which aims to establish a marine corridor in the Gulf of California. This Marine Corridor Conservation Initiative focuses on the protection and conservation of sharks through the empowerment of local communities, involving the design and implementation of targeted management tools.

Dr. Alejandro Rodríguez

Consultant

Alejandro has 18 years of experience in conservation of natural resources in Mexico and has collaborated in initiatives for developing social capital, community businesses, environmental education, water and land conservation, improvement of public policies, improvement of fisheries, conservation of priority species and spaces and adaptation to climate change. He has conceptualized, designed, and implemented 40 conservation projects funded by the WWF international network, the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the Walton Family Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, The Marisla Foundation, The Wallace Global Fund, The Tusher Family Foundation, International Whaling Commission, U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, TELCEL, Alliance WWF-Carlos Slim Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund, Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature A.C., and others.

Pedro Romero

Fisherman and Field technician

Pedro is originally from López Mateos, Baja California Sur. He comes from a family of fishermen native to the Magdalena Bay area and, along with his family, dedicated a significant part of his life to fishing, most notably shark fishing.

Pedro has always shown a passion for and interest in the conservation of marine ecosystems, collaborating on various research projects as a captain as well as supporting marine and terrestrial monitoring efforts in coastal areas and islands in the Mexican Pacific, such as Magdalena Bay, Guadalupe Island, Marias Islands, Cabo Pulmo and Bay of la Paz in the Gulf of California, and the Revillagigedo Archipelago. He has collaborated with Pelagios Kakunjá since 2017 and is currently working as staff.