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Gray whale watching activities in the coastal lagoons of Baja California Sur, Mexico were promoted by both Mexican and foreign brokers in the early '90s. Although the activity allowed a new economic alternative for the fishermen in the region, the Mexican Ministry of Fisheries and the Environment (SEMARNAP) became concerned with the rapid increase of a tourism industry related to a species that, until 1993 had been on the endangered species list. In the management of whale watching, SEMARNAP allocated a limited number of permits to local fishermen and others to provide whale watching services. The lack of organization within the fishing cooperatives to provide services, coupled with the overwhelming number of visiting tourists, resulted in low quality service to the tourist, sub-utilization of the resource, and inter-institutional conflicts. In addition, it was feared that whale watching could possibly threaten the long-term conservation of the whales. With this situation, the management problem concerned the protection of the gray whale, while providing social and economic development through whale watching in the communities adjacent to the Bahía Magdalena coastal lagoons. With the support of Pronatura, A.C., a large Mexican Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), a project was coordinated to develop a proposal for integrated tourism management. Community participation was the main focus of this project. As a result of the project, a need to develop region-specific tourism promotion strategies was identified, as well as the need for specific management measures to protect the whales in each lagoon. The communities made a commitment to participate in the development of the tourist activity within the framework of sustainability.