"If we stop operations, the vaquita will go extinct, It's just out here removing nets, if we stop removing them then there's no hope for the vaquita." Sea Shepherd first mate Jack Hutton.
The vaquita is the smallest species of porpoise and is endemic to the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez). The world’s most endangered marine species, the vaquita is around 4 feet long and weighs less than 110 pounds. The pod has just a couple other of their kind, and they are elusive and difficult to spot. They also have an aversion to boats which compounds the problem of efforts to save them from extinction.
The population has always been small, but now there are only a couple dozen left of the species. The reason is pure greed, stupidity, and mythology on the part of humans.
They are being caught in gill fishing nets dying a horrible death, and although they are not the intended catch, they are collateral damage to supply the “Mexican Cartels and Chinese wildlife traffickers” with the bladders of totoaba“destined for the black market of Shantou in the Guandong province of China. Totoaba is an endangered fish native to the Upper Gulf of California – the same waters as the vaquita. The swim bladders sell in China for over $10,000 a kilo, which means that a fisherman can make more in just a few weeks of illegal fishing than they would fishing legally for the entire year” according to The Science Times.
A Navy officer stands guard on the M/V John Paul Dejoria as it navigates near San Felipe bay, in the Gulf of California, Baja California state, northwestern Mexico, on March 7, 2018, as part of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's operation "Milagro IV" to save the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.From Defenders of Wildlife (2016 tally of vaquita numbers and Mexican efforts to save the vaquita)
There was one exception to the two-year fishery ban: Curvina (a type of croaker fish). Fishermen were allowed to continue fishing for curvina because the nets used to catch them don’t really affect vaquitas. But this exception gave illegal fishermen an excuse to use as a cover to gain access to the totoaba fishing grounds. If anyone asked, they could try to pass as curvina fishermen.
Even once fishermen have left the scene, they left behind another type of danger to vaquitas. Illegal fishermen use banned totoaba gillnets, which they lay under the cover of night. If the authorities spot them, the boats flee the area quickly, leaving their nets behind. These abandoned nets, often called “ghost nets,” continue to catch fish and still pose a threat to vaquitas, which can become entangled and drown.
Mexico had also begun the process of converting its entire shrimping fleet to vaquita-friendly nets, pledging that any others would be confiscated and destroyed. They also placed a ban on nocturnal fishing, hoping to further deter would-be totoaba fishermen. These were good steps forward, but clearly not enough to guarantee that vaquitas would be safe.
Between the active damage of illegal fishing and the quiet threat of abandoned nets, vaquitas continued to decline even while fishing was temporarily banned. Right after this year’s population survey was finished (after estimating only 60 vaquitas were left), three more dead vaquitas were found. Experts determined they had drowned in nets, leaving the dwindling number of vaquitas that much closer to extinction.
M/V John Paul Dejoria crew members work to pull out a hook line near San Felipe bay, in the Gulf of California, Baja California state, northwestern Mexico, on March 7, 2018, as part of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's operation "Milagro IV" to save the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.CBS News has the story on the violence unfolding in the Sea of Cortez. CBS has much more information in their article that is addressed in this story.
It is increasingly dangerous work. Over the last month, the Sea Shepherd ship Farley Mowat has suffered two attacks in which dozens of fast fishing boats pounded the ship with rocks and firebombs.
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The activists are not alone. Mexican marines and federal police aboard the Farley Mowat fired rubber bullets during the most recent attacks. But officials are clearly not capable of handling the attacks, or preventing fishermen from setting the submerged, hidden nets, which are banned by law from the area. The Mexican Navy and Environment Ministry did not reply to request for comments.
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Ladkani also has a theory about why the fishermen are getting so violent and desperate: Sea Shepherd is successful enough at pulling out nets -- which cost about $3,000 apiece -- that the fishermen are going into debt, borrowing money from the cartel of Chinese and Mexican totoaba traffickers to buy new nets.
"This is a vicious circle where people get more indebted," said Ladkani. "This one fisherman wound up owing the cartels $54,000 for 18 nets. He tried to get out, he finally came out and said there is no way I can repay the cartel. He was murdered."
Sunshine Rodriguez, a leader of the fishermen in the Baja California town of San Felipe, agreed that the illegal totoaba trade has not brought riches to the town: A total ban on gillnets has paralyzed the fishing fleet, and government payments meant to compensate for lost fishing income haven't been paid in at least three months.
"I know people who are dedicated 100 percent to that (totoaba) business, and don't even have $10 to put gas in the tank of their panga," said Rodriguez. "The Chinese are making the profit, that I can tell you."
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