TY - JOUR
T1 - Can the vaquita be saved from extinction?
AU - Rodríguez-Quiroz, Gerardo
AU - Valenzuela-Quiñonez, Wenceslao
AU - González-Ocampo, Héctor A.
AU - Ortega-Rubio, Alfredo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Jack H. Berryman Institute.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is considered the world's most endangered marine mammal. It is the smallest member of the porpoise family endemic to the upper part of the Gulf of California. The current population is estimated at < 30 individuals. The primary reasons for the species decline includes limited habitat and incidental mortalities associated with illegal gillnet fishing activities. Since 2008, the Mexican government has taken environmental and economic actions to protect the vaquitas, focusing on reducing bycatch deaths to zero. In 2015, a federal agreement decreed by the Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación prohibited the use of any fishing gillnets for 2 years, severely affecting local human communities because coastal fisheries in the region represent 40% of the gross domestic product and 50% of the local inhabitants are devoted to this activity. Recently, an economic welfare compensation program is giving monthly to fishermen who have fishing permits if they do not continue with their fishing activities. However, none of these actions have fully considered the range of social and economic solutions for the local inhabitants of this region. The paradigms of the contemporary conservation programs must also focus on the well-being of local fishing communities to prevent the vaquita from becoming the second marine mammal species to disappear due to human activities.
AB - The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is considered the world's most endangered marine mammal. It is the smallest member of the porpoise family endemic to the upper part of the Gulf of California. The current population is estimated at < 30 individuals. The primary reasons for the species decline includes limited habitat and incidental mortalities associated with illegal gillnet fishing activities. Since 2008, the Mexican government has taken environmental and economic actions to protect the vaquitas, focusing on reducing bycatch deaths to zero. In 2015, a federal agreement decreed by the Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación prohibited the use of any fishing gillnets for 2 years, severely affecting local human communities because coastal fisheries in the region represent 40% of the gross domestic product and 50% of the local inhabitants are devoted to this activity. Recently, an economic welfare compensation program is giving monthly to fishermen who have fishing permits if they do not continue with their fishing activities. However, none of these actions have fully considered the range of social and economic solutions for the local inhabitants of this region. The paradigms of the contemporary conservation programs must also focus on the well-being of local fishing communities to prevent the vaquita from becoming the second marine mammal species to disappear due to human activities.
KW - Artisanal fisheries
KW - Conservation
KW - Marine mammal
KW - Mexico
KW - Natural protected areas
KW - Phocoena sinus
KW - Porpoise
KW - Upper Gulf of California
KW - Vaquita
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85053911835&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Comentario/Debate
SN - 2155-3858
VL - 12
SP - 284
EP - 290
JO - Human-Wildlife Interactions
JF - Human-Wildlife Interactions
IS - 2
ER -