Laguna Playa Colorada-Santa María La Reforma. 02/02/04; Sinaloa; 53,140 ha; 25°02'N 108°09'W. The site consists of three bays with wide mouths to the sea featuring 153 islands, 25 marshes, and 18,700 ha of mangroves. The endangered Black-vented Shearwater Puffinus opisthomelas, the Brant Branta bernicla and numerous waterfowl species inhabit the site. The intertidal flats host very large numbers of shorebirds, with past counts reaching over 300,000 individuals - thus the site is listed as an international site on the Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network. Economically important fish species are the mullets (Mugil cephalus and M. curema), Bullseye Puffer Sphoeroides annulatus, Mojarra Diapterus peruvianus, Spanish Mackerel Scomberomorus sierra, snappers Lutjanus spp., and snooks Centropomus spp. In terms of fish catch, it is one of the most significant areas on the Pacific coast of Mexico; the area has now over 2,000 small fishing boats navigating its waters. There are over 10,000 ha of shrimp farms, which have brought many environmental impacts, such as silting, pollution with pesticides, spread of viruses from farmed to wild populations, drying up of nearly 10% of the mangroves and disruption of the hydrological flows. Conservation International and the Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa are pushing forward a community management initiative of the coastal wetlands and raising environmental awareness among locals. Ramsar site no. 1340. Most recent RIS information: 2004.