Secretaries Josefa González Blanco Ortiz Mena and Víctor Villalobos Arámbula signed the framework deal between SEMARNAT and SADER.

Initiative launched to strengthen fight against illegal traffic of totoaba

MEXICO
Saturday, March 23, 2019, 02:50 (GMT + 9)

For the first time, the problems that have led to the marine porpoise being in danger of extinction will be addressed in a comprehensive way, taking into account its root causes and monitoring its distribution and population size.

The Government of Mexico has proposed to strengthen the work it carries out, in a co-responsible manner, with the fishing communities and other key entities for the implementation of good fishing practices and marine conservation, by launching the Initiative for Sustainability in the North of the Gulf of California, through the Secretariats of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) and Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT).

The objective of this Initiative is to create conditions of environmental, social and economic sustainability that harmonize the productive activities of the area -with compliance with the law and the well-being of the communities of the region-, strengthen the rule of law and generate opportunities for developing. This will help to avoid poaching and illegal trafficking of totoaba, which has been one of the main causes for the marine porpoise to be in danger of extinction.

The marine porpoise population has been steadily declining in recent years until currently reaching critical levels. To estimate the distribution and size of the population of this cetacean, acoustic monitoring will continue, which represents "a challenge that the Government of Mexico faces with responsibility and commitment," according to the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (CONAPESCA).

Less than 30 marine porpoise in the wild were estimated in the year 2017 

The refuge area will be delimited with buoys for the protection of the marine porpoise, which will make the perimeter boundary visible, and surveillance and monitoring operations will be reinforced to combat illegal fishing and the removal of nets.

The strategy includes five working areas: comprehensive development for community well-being, Governance and security (including the fight against poaching and trafficking in species), Sustainable and responsible fishing, Conservation and monitoring of ecosystems and species (with emphasis on the marine porpoise) and sustainable productive diversification.

Authorities of Mexico explaining to the fishermen that they should not fish the totoaba and that they can put the marine porpoise in danger of extinction

From each axis concrete actions that must be taken in co-responsibility with the inhabitants of the northern Gulf of California, state governments and the federal government, and the committed participation of civil society organizations and academic institutions in a framework of collaboration, respect and absolute attachment to legality.

Activists from Greenpeace East Asia and Greenpeace Mexico hold up fake plastic swim bladders from the totoaba fish, to highlight what they say is a rampant illegal trade in the critically endangered fish which is being conducted by organised crime syndica | Photo: EPA/BGNES

The Initiative also includes actions that strengthen it, with measures such as the development of a common agenda, definition of goals and specific high-impact instruments, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and permanent and effective communication.

The region covered by the initiative includes areas for environmental conservation and good fishing practices, such as the Upper Gulf of California Biosphere Reserve and the Colorado River Delta, the Marine Porpoise Protection Refuge Area, and the Puerto Peñasco-Puerto Lobos Biological and Fishing Corridor.

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