Mexico Takes Unprecedented Action in Safeguarding Habitats to Save the Vaquita Monica Echeverria - World Wildlife Fund
go to original November 15, 2017

Operation Milagro IV: A Vaquita Defense Campaign (Sea Shepherd Conservation Society)

Update: Mexico Military Crime-Busters Join Ocean Campaign to Stop Gangs Wiping Out Vaquitas (Express)

The government of Mexico, global conservation experts and civil society must urgently focus all efforts on ensuring a gillnet-free Upper Gulf of California and protecting vaquita habitat, WWF emphasized as the current phase of Vaquita CPR (Conservation, Protection, and Rescue) efforts draw to a close.

The presence of vaquita mothers and calves noted during these efforts indicates the world still has a small window of opportunity to save the most endangered marine mammal on the planet. But failing immediate action, a new totoaba fishing season, which could start as early as February, could push the vaquita to extinction.

Vaquita CPR field operations began on October 12 at the recommendation of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA) and the request of the Mexican government. The project, which involved experts from nine countries, intended to locate, rescue and then temporarily move the vaquitas to an ocean sanctuary off the coast of San Felipe. Field operations to capture as many vaquita as possible were however suspended on November 4, following the death of a vaquita that had been relocated.

“The CPR efforts were a bold move and as they end, we urge all those who care about the vaquita to show similar courage and commitment to ensure a gillnet-free Upper Gulf of California,” said Jorge Rickards, CEO, WWF-Mexico. “As difficult as the last few weeks have been, we have witnessed a small glimmer of hope for the vaquita and it is our collective responsibility to do all we can to ensure a safe and healthy home for vaquitas and the new calves we have seen. Safeguarding the vaquita’s habitat is our one - and only - chance to save the vaquita.”

The biggest threat to the vaquita are fishing nets used to illegally catch the critically endangered totoaba fish, which inadvertently trap and drown the world’s smallest porpoise. In June 2017, following advocacy efforts by WWF and other organizations, the government of Mexico permanently banned the use of gillnets but enforcement remains a challenge, as does the retrieval of nets already in the water.

“Even though the situation seems dire, we cannot give up now, especially when there remains a glimmer of hope with vaquitas reproducing in the area. Any available resource must be immediately directed to habitat protection in the Upper Gulf of California to ensure strict and full enforcement of the gillnet ban and removal of ghost nets. Illegal fishing cannot be allowed, as that will lead to only one possible outcome: extinction,” added Rickards.

WWF continues to work with the Mexican government and partners such as the Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC), the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and the Whale Museum to remove lost or abandoned ‘ghost’ gill nets from the waters, with the collaboration and experience of local fishermen. From October 2016 to July 2017, the partners have retrieved more than 400 nets.

Read the rest at World Wildlife Fund

Related: Sea Shepherd's Campaign to Save the Vaquita Porpoise Launches in Mexico with Two Vessels (Canadian Free Press)

Related: Law Protecting Marine Mammals Turns 45, US Congress to Kill It (Natural Resources Defense Council)

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