Fishing, Poaching Threaten Vaquita Conservation Effort

[rwsanders]

Source: NBC News San Diego

For the first time in four years, fishermen are back on the water in the Upper Gulf of California fishing inside the vaquita marina sanctuary, the only place in the world where the smallest marine mammal can be found.

In 2015, the Mexican government prohibited commercial fishing in what is also known as Sea of Cortez. On March 21, the government announced that it will place buoys to set boundaries around the reserve, where it is believed fewer than 10 vaquitas remain.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources promised to provide social programs and jobs for fishing communities, but during an assembly, fishermen refused the initiative, arguing that it does not give an immediate solution for their people who are facing hunger.

Read more: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Fishing-Poaching-Threaten-Vaquita-Conservation-Effort-507580241.html

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Can't find other confirmation of this, but if this is true, it is the end for the VAQUITA

[mr_lebowski]

1. Jesus, man is there a place we can donate to these asshole fisherman ...

It's freaking extortion, but I'd put up some bucks.

FML .. what a shit day.

[rwsanders]

2. I'd do the same.

Some are legitimate and have been waiting years for approval to use gear that is safe for the vaquita.
Others are as dumb as a Fox "news" viewer and either claim there is no such thing as a vaquita, they are already extinct, or the worst of them hope for extinction so they can fish with no restrictions.
Sadly the guy in charge of fisheries (at least before the recent change in administration) doesn't believe the science about the vaquita. The simple science is a complete NO GO zone and the vaquita would be saved and there would be an abundance of fish like those guys have never seen.
Following this path, they'll fish the place to hell and find something else to blame, like the Canadian fishermen who take it out on harp seal pups by beating them to a bloody pulp once a year.

Sorry, I'm having trouble with this too.

[Judi Lynn]

8. If only. You'd have company, too. Killing the handful left won't help their families.

Their selfishness shouldn't be allowed to be the deciding factor in the survival of this tiny few precious remnants of a extraordinary species.

Too much power is in their hands.

They should be paid to allow the little ones to live.

[DFW]

4. The sperm whales had the open ocean to flee to

The Sea of Cortez is really an enclosed bay. There is nowhere for the vaquita to flee to. Either they are allowed to live, or they are killed off. It's pretty simple.

[rwsanders]

6. Thanks DFW, don't know what those messages were (don't need to), but good answer!

[DFW]

7. It's amazing what a quick look at a map can do, ain't it! n/t

[Judi Lynn]

9. Mexican locals report injuries in clash near vaquita reserve

Mexican locals report injuries in clash near vaquita reserve
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 16:35 EDT, 28 March 2019 | UPDATED: 16:35 EDT, 28 March 2019

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexican fishermen, environmentalists and residents say an undetermined number of people have been wounded in a clash with marines in the state of Baja California.

The injuries occurred after shots were fired during a confrontation in the coastal town of San Felipe, which is near the reserve of the vaquita porpoise.

The porpoise is the world's most endangered marine mammal, with as few as 10 remaining in the Gulf of California.

The confrontation Thursday apparently started as authorities confiscated illegal nets set for Totoaba fish. The vaquitas often get caught in the nets, although such fishing is banned.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-6862245/Mexican-locals-report-injuries-clash-near-vaquita-reserve.html

[Judi Lynn]

10. Mexican Navy: 1 injured in clash near vaquita reserve

Mexican Navy: 1 injured in clash near vaquita reserve
By Mark Stevenson | AP March 29 at 5:48 PM

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president said Friday he regrets a confrontation between fishermen and marines trying to prevent the illegal fishing that has driven the vaquita porpoise to the brink of extinction.

The Mexican Navy said at least one fisherman was shot when a marine’s rifle accidentally discharged, and fishermen say two more people were slightly wounded in subsequent protests on Thursday.

It was the highest casualty toll yet in a long-running confrontation between environmentalists and fishermen angry over lapsed government support payments that were meant to compensate them for income they lost because of a total ban on gill nets.

“Yesterday there was unfortunately a confrontation, I very much regret it,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, adding that he has been discussing the situation in the Gulf of California for several days with top officials.

Fishermen in the community of San Felipe set illegal nets to catch Totoaba fish, whose swim bladder is considered a delicacy in China. The nets also drown vaquitas, a small porpoise that lives only in the Gulf — also known as the Sea of Cortes — of which perhaps as few as 10 remain.

More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexican-navy-1-injured-in-clash-near-vaquita-reserve/2019/03/29/5c48401c-526c-11e9-bdb7-44f948cc0605_story.html

[rwsanders]

11. Thanks Judi,

I didn't see your post and just posted this in Breaking News.
I don't know how much longer I'll be able to post about events in Mexico as the forum says news of "National Importance" but I'll keep going because I think it is bigger than that.

I found some older news that is good on a different species that I'm going to post when I have more time.