There is hope for the endangered vaquita, as the latest counts for this year show an encouraging trend: For the first time, the population is no longer declining. More than a year ago, the Mexican government began placing concrete blocks with steel hooks in the vaquita's protected area in the Gulf of California. These measures have had a clear impact, with illegal fishing falling by 90 %. Fishermen now avoid this area for fear of losing their nets. Due to the success of this measure, the protected area is now being extended. The Mexican government is planning to sink a further 152 concrete blocks with steel hooks over the next few months.
We very much welcome this extremely promising development and are also actively working with Pesca ABC to develop and implement alternative fishing methods to ensure that vaquitas no longer end up as bycatch in the nets.
Combined-CSG-letter-and-analysis-re-Vaquita-and-CITES-SC-2023