YAQU PACHA, Nuremberg Zoo and Zoomarine Portugal are pleased to announce their continued support for Pesca ABC.
PescaABC is a grassroots organization led by local fishermen and women that promotes sustainable fishing in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico.
The vaquita(Phocoena sinus) is the most endangered marine mammal in the world. The main cause of its decline is mortality from fishing nets used in both legal and illegal fisheries. We are working with Pesca ABC to promote alternative fishing methods to gillnets to save the vaquita from extinction while preserving local livelihoods.
Hook and line fishing is a proven sustainable method that allows fishermen to go about their work while protecting the vaquita. Drift nets are the main cause of the decline in the vaquita population. Fish caught with gillnets arrive dead and crushed, while fish caught with hook and line arrive alive. The use of humane techniques in post-catch processing increases the quality, shelf life and price of the fish. Better prices are the key to fishermen abandoning gillnets in favor of hook and line. We support Pesca ABC in building local capacity to implement a Japanese humane technique known as Ike-Jime.
With the support of YAQU PACHA and other donors, Pesca ABC has developed a catalog of gillnet-free techniques to sustain livelihoods and save the vaquita from extinction. In the coming months, Pesca ABC will also be working with Mujeres Acuicolas del Mar de Cortés to develop an oyster farm as an alternative to gillnets. In addition, Pesca ABC is working closely with a group of women who catch octopus during the tidal season. By supporting these and other non-gillnet fishing methods, Pesca ABC is helping to save the vaquita.