The principal aim of the project (ended August 2005) was to specify sets of locally appropriate and feasible good practices for shrimp mariculture and recreational marina facility siting and operation with the full engagement of the industries and public officials in the Gulf of California region in Mexico. The project team engaged in ongoing decision-making processes at the national and local levels to advocate for the incorporation of good practice guidelines into public policy statements, plans and decision criteria, which relate to siting new projects. The project helped motivate and build capacity to adopt of codes of conduct and related good practices through training and organizing collaborations with researchers and businesses. It also provided operational guidance and communicated results broadly to accelerate awareness, interest and broader adoption of good management practices. The main focal area for work in mariculture was centered on Bahía Santa María, Sinaloa, which already had a locally prepared management plan and was within a state that was presently completing a coastal use designation program through a POET (regional ecological plan). Much of the marina work (i.e. training and diagnosis) was Gulf-wide, given that the Escalera Nautica project is one of regional concern, as well as in selected harbors including La Paz Bay.