Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca, October 8, 2026. The Cooperative of Certified Surf Guides and Surf Camps of the Coast of Oaxaca Region held its Annual Meeting this Thursday in the Triqui-Mixe Room at the Secrets Hotel. Members, prospective members, and representatives from partner organizations were in attendance.
During the meeting, the Board of Directors’ annual report was reviewed, and proposals for strategic agreements were analyzed to improve the quality of surf-related tourism services and strengthen the conservation of the waves and their surf ecosystems in the face of activities that threaten their integrity and the future of surfing in the region.
The assembly was convened by Erik Velasco, president of the Cooperative, and was held in accordance with the General Law on Cooperative Societies. The session took place in person and included remote participants, among them Ben Carson.
Huatulco, Candidate for a Surfing Reserve
The highlight of the day was a presentation by Efraín Olachea, Save The Waves Coalition’s (STW) Regional Coordinator for Mexico and an honorary member of the Cooperative. He explained the steps needed to effectively protect surf ecosystems using Save The Waves’ model, which consists of developing specific work plans for each break (community) along a variety of protection categories (Community Reserve, State Park, World Surfing Reserve, Land-Use Planning, etc.). To begin this work, Save The Waves proposes:
1) Facilitate inter-institutional working groups to conduct spatial and territorial analysis in collaboration with the communities to identify priority areas.
2) Analyze the feasibility of requesting letters of support from communities and local authorities to back the creation of these surf reserves.
He also explained the World Surfing Reserve program—STW’s flagship model for recognizing and protecting high-quality waves and their surroundings—as well as other formal and informal mechanisms for conserving surf ecosystems, even without a designation as a World Surfing Reserve (WSR). He explained that a surf ecosystem comprises the waves, the natural processes that generate them, the associated habitats, and the communities connected to them.
To obtain the WSR designation, a surf ecosystem must meet five requirements: wave quality and consistency, environmental characteristics, surf culture, local capacity and support, and conservation priority. Olachea emphasized that the initiative always originates from the community. Although the designation is not legally binding, it provides legitimacy, visibility, and technical support, as is the case with Ramsar or UNESCO sites. It is a valuable badge of quality for coastlines suitable for surfing and other aquatic sports.
As examples, he cited Punta de Lobos in Chile and San Miguel in Baja California, where the state’s first state park was established. In Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido was designated the 14th World Surfing Reserve on March 21, 2026.
Save The Waves has been working on the Oaxaca coast since 2018 and formalized a MoU with the Cooperative in 2026. Among its goals are letters of support to designate and protect surf ecosystems in Salina Cruz, Huatulco, and Barra de la Cruz, including evaluating community surf reserves in Bajos del Arenal, El Mojón, and Playa Paraíso. It is also promoting the first National Strategy for the Conservation of Surf Ecosystems in the Mexican Pacific (ENCOSUR) and the “Pacific Surf Route,” announced by the Federal Ministry of Tourism at the presidential conference on June 19, 2026.
An Agenda of Agreements for the Coast
The Assembly discussed three strategic initiatives:
- Regional Surfing Decalogue: adoption of the Tripartite Agreement between Huatulco, Salina Cruz, and Barra de la Cruz, which sets a maximum of four users per guide in the water and at least 40 hours of annual training.
- New honorary members: representatives from the Barra de la Cruz and Salina Cruz surfing cooperatives, and singer-songwriter Sofía Guzmán, patron of the Community Surf School.
- El Mojón Beach and Playa Paraíso: It was agreed to propose El Mojón Beach and Playa Paraíso as a World Surfing Reserve in 2027.
A First Year of Results
In his 2025–2026 annual report, President Erik Velasco Escalera reported that the Cooperative obtained approval from the National Institute of the Social Economy. He also reported that all active members were certified as lifeguards, with an average score of 92 out of 100 and certification valid through January 2028.
The training was conducted in collaboration with the Santa María Huatulco Municipal Civil Protection Agency, Alpha2H2O, the Ben Carson Foundation, and the Yubartas Huatulco Lifeguard Club. During the same period, two international partnerships were signed: one with WILDCOAST and another with the Save The Waves Coalition.
Next Steps
For the 2026–2027 cycle, the Council committed to submitting the Notice of Use for the Women’s Cooperative within 180 days. It also committed to maintaining the certification of all its guides and to operating the Accreditation Commission in collaboration with Salina Cruz and Barra de la Cruz.
Together with Save The Waves, the Cooperative will move forward with Huatulco’s candidacy as a World Surfing Reserve and other environmental conservation initiatives. The event concluded with a group photo under the organization’s motto: “For safe, certified, and sustainable surfing on the Oaxaca Coast.”
