Every spring, Dr. Senko teaches SEA/FIS 400: “Sea turtles, sharks, and fisheries of Baja California”.
This 3-credit in-person study abroad program uses Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula as a model system to study the relationships between marine megafauna (sea turtles, sharks, and marine mammals), coastal communities and ecosystems, and small-scale fisheries. The class meets weekly during the semester and travels to Dr. Senko’s study sites in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico over spring break. Students get hands-on field experience with sea turtles and fisheries while getting the opportunity to swim with sea lions and whale sharks, meet with local fishers and conservation practitioners, and spend a night camping on a remote island inhabited by a single fishing family deep in the Gulf of California.