The world’s rarest marine mammal, the vaquita, is being pushed to the brink of extinction and a new report confirms Mexico’s failure to enforce its own laws is largely to blame.
Earlier this week, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), operating under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (UMCA), released a factual record showing that illegal gillnet fishing in the Upper Gulf of California continues virtually unchecked. Gillnets, used to catch shrimp and the endangered totoaba fish, are the primary cause of the vaquita’s decline. Fewer than 10 vaquita remain.
Despite bans on gillnets since 2020, eyewitness accounts confirm fishing with the prohibited gear continues at similar levels. The report highlights how enforcement claims by Mexico are not supported on the ground, with fishermen evading restrictions by sending illegal catches to other regions.
Conservation groups say Mexico must act now. “Illegal gillnet fishing is squeezing the last breaths out of the vaquita,” said Sarah Uhlemann of the Center for Biological Diversity. Others warn that without immediate, round-the-clock enforcement, transnational criminal networks trafficking totoaba will continue to profit.
Recent acoustic monitoring shows the vaquita still survives in its core habitat, giving experts hope, but time is running out.
The report paves the way for the United States to escalate trade measures under the USMCA if Mexico fails to comply. For the vaquita, such international pressure may be the last lifeline.
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