MEXICO CITY (AP) – The Mexican government said on Saturday it was considering reducing the vaquita marina protection area in the upper Gulf of California, an apparent recognition that the little brown pig may never again be allowed in the entire historic area of its habitat. do not return.
The move will cut the area where gillnets are banned to protect the world’s most endangered marine mammal and smallest brown fish. About ten vaquita may remain in the Gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, the only place in the world in which the elusive brown fish live.
The Department of Environmental Affairs in Mexico said Saturday that the decline in the number of vaquitas and the area where they have been seen in recent years justifies the protection, which currently covers most of the Upper Gulf. The zone begins around the Colorado River Delta and extends south past the fishing town of San Felipe and near Puerto Peñasco.
“The possibility of changing the area of gagging is being investigated,” the department said in a statement. “There have been enough technical studies to indicate a possible reduction in the area, according to the recent spread of the vaquita marina in the area.”
It is said that the change will be submitted for discussion by a group of fishermen, the public and authorities and that formal proposals can be presented until March 26.
The net ban angered fishermen, who regularly set up illegal nets to catch totoaba, another endangered species. Vaquitas are often caught in nets for totoaba, the swim bladder of which is considered a delicacy in China and recommends prices of thousands of dollars per kilogram.
The fishermen staged fierce protests and attacked boats from the environmental group Sea Shepherd, removing illegal nets in the smaller area where vaquitas have been seen in recent years.
Alex Olivera, the Mexico representative of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the reduction could affect the admittedly small population of still remaining consequences.
“The reduction of the zone also means that the area available for the vaquita marina will be cut. Of course, this species does not live in a coral; he lives in the marine environment so that as soon as it leaves the zone, it can get gillnets. , which is a threat, ”Olivera said.