The Vaquita, facing a tough challenge ahead

The vaquita is a 100% Mexican porpoise, that can’t be found anywhere else in the world, and that is in a high risk of extinction. Its population, recently estimated in less than 100 individuals, survives in a reduced area of the Upper Gulf of California, mostly in front of the coast of San Felipe (Baja California). The main cause of its death is its by-catch in fishing nets.

Pronatura Noroeste is part of a coalition dedicated to the rescue of this vulnerable cetacean. Our work includes the support to the Mexican Government to facilitate the use of fishing gear specially designed to prevent the vaquita to get entangled, and the promotion of a commercial brand of seafood that allows to market in a favorable way those products harvested by using those gears, with no risk for the vaquita.

This brand, named San Felipe Fish & Seafood, groups around 25 fishermen committed with this cause. During the last two years, we promoted the use of these products in the quality restaurant and chef market of Baja California (Mexico) and Southern California (United States), to generate a market supportive of the efforts to save the vaquita from extinction. The success of this initiative will depend, mostly, in the implementation of effective governmental actions to address this serious crisis for marine conservation in Mexico.