Mexico shrinks the gillnet ban zone for the vaquita, the world's rarest marine mammal, by about 86%
Inside Climate News gives both sides: scientists who fear extinction, and fishing towns that say they can't live under the old rules.
What happened: New rules published in Mexico's official gazette on Oct. 14 cut the Upper Gulf of California area where gillnets are banned by about 86%. Fishing reopens across roughly 10,000 km² that had been closed since 2020. Mexico's environment ministry, Semarnat, says the change follows a CITES recommendation to focus patrols on the 225 km² "Zero Tolerance Area" where vaquitas are seen most. President Claudia Sheinbaum said long bans have hurt fishing families' well-being.
Why it matters: A 2025 survey estimated only seven to 10 vaquitas remain, down from more than 550 in 1997. Gillnets, including illegal ones set for the totoaba fish, whose swim bladder sells on the black market, are the main thing killing them.
How much agreement is there? Highly contested. Alex Olivera of the Center for Biological Diversity called it "absolutely shocking" and warned it likely means extinction. Baja California's governor called it "great news" for fishing communities. Inside Climate News reports the rules also open a boat corridor through the Zero Tolerance Area, and San Felipe fishermen briefly blockaded the road out of town over it. Researcher Valeria Towns says paying fishermen to stay out is the fairest way to enforce the zone.
Could someone help? Talks on paying fishermen to stay out of the restricted zone are still going on, and that is the approach Towns backs. Refusing totoaba products undercuts the black market that drives the illegal nets.
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Vaquita | NOAA Fisheries
After exploring Mexico Slashes Protections for Vaquita Porpoises, for why gillnets and the totoaba trade matter, see Vaquita | NOAA Fisheries.
NOAA calls the vaquita the most endangered marine mammal. It explains how gillnets set illegally for totoaba, whose swim bladders are smuggled to China, drown vaquitas.
NOAA Fisheries · Wade · 5 min
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Totoaba
After exploring Mexico Slashes Protections for Vaquita Porpoises, the other fish at the center of this is the Totoaba.
The totoaba is the largest drum fish, found only in the Gulf of California. Once abundant, it is now endangered because of human-related threats.
Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min
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