Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Sept. 5, 2026 — A Jalisco lawmaker asked federal agencies Thursday to expand inspections and review coastal permits after reports placed crocodile deaths around Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas at 13 in under two months.
Movimiento Ciudadano Deputy Ana Fernanda Hernández Sanmiguel urged Semarnat and Profepa to increase patrols, investigate the deaths, and reexamine permits and concessions within the federal coastal zone.
The proposal does not suspend permits or change current beach rules. Any direct effect on residents, property owners or coastal projects would depend on action by the federal agencies.
Permit oversight moves to the center
Hernández presented the request during a Jalisco Congress session held Sept. 3. The Legislature identifies her as a Movimiento Ciudadano deputy representing Guadalajara’s District 8.
“The Bahía de Banderas region faces a severe environmental crisis from pressure on its marine and coastal ecosystems,” Hernández said in remarks accompanying the proposal.
She linked the deaths to development pressure on wetlands and estuaries. She also called for stricter criteria when projects seek access to beaches, federal coastal land or land reclaimed from the sea.
The legislator asked for mandatory wildlife mitigation and management plans within project approvals. She also sought administrative and criminal sanctions when investigations establish responsibility for attacks on crocodiles.
We reviewed Semarnat’s federal coastal-zone procedures, which place permits and concessions for beaches and the Zona Federal Marítimo Terrestre under federal authority.
That means Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas cannot conduct the requested permit review on their own. Municipal governments can report possible violations, assist inspections and control local land-use decisions.
Federal and state measures are already underway
The legislative request came as Semarnat and the governments of Jalisco and Nayarit were preparing a joint crocodile-management plan.
Semarnat Secretary Alicia Bárcena said the plan would include common warning signs and protocols for areas where people and crocodiles interact. Officials are also examining possible transfers of some animals to sanctuaries or crocodile facilities.
Bárcena said Semarnat and Conagua would scrutinize hotel expansion requests affecting federal land, riverbanks and river mouths. She acknowledged that hotel and golf-course construction has entered parts of the species’ habitat.
Jalisco officials also said environmental complaints concerning the deaths have been filed with federal authorities.
“We have worked very closely with Semarnat and Profepa,” José Daniel Graf Pérez, Jalisco’s director of natural resources, said.
Graf said State Police patrols have covered Estero Boca Negra, Boca de Tomates and sections of the Ameca and Mascota rivers. Federal authorities have also requested assistance from the National Guard, according to his account of the enforcement response.
The death count requires careful distinction
Jalisco environmental officials initially confirmed 11 dead American crocodiles in August. A later report placed the count at 12.
The death of a 92-centimeter female found near Boca Negra was then described as the 13th case around Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas. Municipal officials said only three carcasses were suitable for necropsies.
That latest necropsy found severe trauma, including broken ribs and spinal injuries. Veterinarian Eva Torres said the evidence did not indicate that those injuries were inflicted intentionally.
Other animals were found with injuries that specialists said appeared consistent with human aggression. However, the limited necropsy record does not support describing all 13 deaths as killings.
Hernández said some carcasses had traumatic injuries, punctures, or evidence of gunfire. Her request calls for federal investigators to determine responsibility in individual cases.
The new count follows PVDN’s earlier reporting on 11 crocodile deaths and the government response that followed them.
Development has narrowed historic habitat
Researchers have identified Estero El Salado, Boca Negra, Boca de Tomates, Laguna El Quelele and the Ameca River corridor as key crocodile habitat around the bay.
Those wetlands now share the northern Puerto Vallarta coastal area with Marina Vallarta, the airport, golf courses, hotels and residential development.
University of Guadalajara specialists have said urban growth fragmented former wetland connections. That leaves crocodiles moving through the sea, canals and developed areas when traveling between remaining habitats.
A previous PVDN examination of habitat loss described how development has narrowed the animals’ movement corridors near Estero El Salado and Boca Negra.
The American crocodile, or Crocodylus acutus, remains subject to special protection under Mexico’s NOM-059 environmental standard.
Profepa advises residents and visitors not to feed, capture, handle, or harm crocodiles. Wildlife violations can be reported through the agency’s environmental complaint service or by calling 800-776-3372. Immediate public-safety concerns should be reported to 911.
