The 2026-27 whale shark season in the Bahía de La Paz officially runs from October 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027. SEMARNAT's wildlife directorate set those dates in a notice signed in Mexico City on September 17. The same notice also says the first boat cannot leave until the bay holds at least six sharks. With five or fewer, zero boats are allowed. So October 1 is the date the paperwork opens. The real start depends on a count.
That count matters for more than opening day. This season, it sets how many boats can work the bay on any given day, all the way to April. If you plan to swim this winter, or to take visiting family out on the water, it helps to know how the count works before you book.
The Count Behind Every Booking
The number that matters is not a single sighting. The notice uses the average of the two most recent official counts, rounded up, based on data from the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas. The 2026 management plan calls for at least two counts a week.
The counts are run jointly. El Sudcaliforniano's September 24 report explains that the tour operators provide the boat, the crew and their knowledge of the area. A person named by CONANP then validates the count. Each monitoring run covers Zone I out and back along the same route. Every authorization holder must work at least one monitoring day during the season. CONANP keeps a record of who did, and that participation is a condition of the authorization.
The plan keeps these official counts separate from the logbooks, or bitácoras, that operators fill out on every trip. The counts set the boat limit. The logbooks record encounters, passengers and incidents so the activity can be reviewed. A sighting your captain logs on Tuesday does not open more slots by itself. Only the official count does.
The Table That Sets the Fleet
Once the average reaches six, the notice allows a sliding number of boats. There are four shifts a day.
| Sharks counted | Boats per shift | Boats per day |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 6 | 24 |
| 7, 8 or 9 | 7 | 28 |
| 10 | 8 | 32 |
| 11 | 9 | 36 |
| 12 | 10 | 40 |
| 13 | 11 | 44 |
| 14 or more | 14 | 56 |
The table has two features worth knowing. Between seven and nine sharks it stays flat at 28 boats a day, so a count that climbs from seven to nine adds nothing. The biggest jump comes at the top. Going from 13 sharks to 14 adds three boats per shift and 12 per day, the largest single step in the table.
The table also has to be read against the size of the fleet. SEMARNAT will issue 112 authorizations this season. Each one covers one holder, one boat and one identification flag, called a banderola. Even at the full 56 boats a day, only half of those authorized boats can run trips on a given day. At six sharks, the limit is 24, a little more than one boat in five. The 112 is a list of who may operate. The count decides how many actually leave the dock.
CONANP sets the clock times and how the four shifts are divided, based on how many sharks are present and on operating conditions. The 2026 notice gives no fixed times for the shifts. Whatever time your operator quotes may change as the counts change.
What Is New This Year, and What Carried Over
Some of this is older than it looks. The 56-boat daily maximum and the halt at five sharks or fewer were already in the 2025-26 plan. What the new 2026-29 management plan adds is the written sliding scale and the rule that the official figure is the average of the two latest counts.
There are two other changes. The plan now covers three seasons in a row, 2026-27 through 2028-29, though operators still need to apply for an authorization each season. The rules on backup boats are also looser. A substitute boat used to have to belong to the same owner. Now it can belong to another person or company, as long as it is registered and meets the operating requirements.
Maya Comunicación summed up the October 3 situation this way:
"La temporada de tiburón ballena en La Paz ya abrió en el calendario; quien decide si hay nado es el propio tiburón."
In English, the season is open on the calendar, but the shark decides whether there is swimming.
Where the Boats Are Allowed to Go
The bay's whale shark refuge, the Área de Refugio, was created in 2018. It covers 22,749.08 hectares, from San Juan de la Costa to the entrance of the ensenada de La Paz. Swimming happens in only one part of it. The plan divides the refuge into three zones:
- Zone I is the only area where watching and swimming with sharks is allowed.
- Zone II is set aside for conservation, and whale shark watching and swimming tours are not allowed there.
- Zone III is for transit only, at a maximum of seven knots, about 12.9 kilometers per hour.
Boats may pass through Zone III, but every whale shark encounter has to happen in Zone I. That is also where the official counts are taken, so the sharks being counted and the sharks being visited are in the same water.
The Swim Itself
Up to five swimmers may enter the water at once, with a guide. Each swimmer needs a full-torso life vest or a wetsuit, plus a mask, snorkel and fins. In the water, the rules are specific:
- Stay at least two meters from the shark's head and sides, and three meters from its tail.
- Keep the group together at the surface and never dive below the shark.
- Only one boat may work with a shark or group of sharks, for up to 30 minutes. Other boats must stay at least 50 meters away and keep looking for other sharks.
- Boats approach from behind, at a diagonal, moving parallel to the shark, at no more than three knots.
The encounter must end if the shark swims evasively, thrashes its tail defensively, changes direction suddenly, or makes deep, long dives. It also ends if the shark's feeding, defecation or reproduction is disrupted. The code of conduct bans touching, riding, chasing, feeding or blocking the shark. Drones, underwater scooters, selfie sticks and underwater lights are also banned during the activity. Guests who bring a GoPro on a pole or a small drone will need to leave both on shore.
What Last Season Looked Like
Last season gives the best sense of what a count-based season can deliver. In a May 8, 2026 report in Diario El Independiente, Mayor Milena Quiroga cited figures from Whale Shark México for October 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026. That season saw 56 individual sharks identified, including 20 new juvenile records, and 950 sightings. Eleven sharks were still in the bay when the post-season report was released.
The start of last season shows the same gap between calendar and boats. On November 18, 2025, Peninsular Digital reported that the season had begun a few days earlier. Carla Jonguitud Mendarozqueta, the La Paz city government's director of Bienestar y Desarrollo Económico, said ten sharks had been recorded inside the authorized area and 34 more in nearby waters. Under this season's table, an official count of ten would allow eight boats per shift and 32 a day.
That same report covered how tours were sold in 2025-26. At the time, 62 operators held valid permits, and their permits could be checked by QR code. The city was building a single ticket point on the Ignacio Bañuelos Cabezud walkway, across from the Muelle Fiscal, to bring all sales into one place. The price was set at 1,600 pesos per person. All of those details belong to last season. The 2026-27 coverage we reviewed does not confirm a current price, ticket point or operator list.
Where Things Stand on October 12
As of October 12, 2026, we have found no published report that this season's tours have started. We have also found no official 2026-27 count. Maya Comunicación's October 3 piece said the upcoming CONANP counts would decide when departures begin. Neither that piece nor El Sudcaliforniano's September coverage reported a count, a first sighting, or a departure point for this season.
Until a count is announced, the most useful question for any operator is simple. Ask what the latest official average is. Under this season's rules, that one number sets how many boats can go out and how many seats exist that day.
At Apex Real Estate Los Cabos, we follow La Paz through the year, and the whale shark season, with its shifting boat limits, is part of what makes the bay worth knowing well. If you're thinking about a home where winter mornings start on the water, schedule a private consultation, and we'll share what we know about the city, starting from the waterfront.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
