Court upholds ban on Mexican Seafood!! Some pressure to save the vaquita!
Another small glimmer of hope, but I can't find anything that details the status. May is the big season for the Totoaba, Mexico allowed fishermen back into the vaquita reserve, the confrontations have become more heated, but I can't find ANY current news. I've found a way to check daily and NOTHING.
The fight to save the vaquita is not over yet
Source: Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation
The world’s most endangered marine mammal, the tiny vaquita, just won another minor victory in court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a ban on Mexican seafood caught with gillnets in the vaquita’s range. The matter was then sent to the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) for further consideration.
The court said that circumstances had not changed enough to consider striking down the ban, enacted in July 2018 by Judge Gary S. Katzmann. However, it also stated that the CIT should review the federal government’s claims that allegations by environmental groups that the government did not act when it was required to protect the rare animal, were false.
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration in March, arguing the Marine Mammal Protection Act required it to ban imports of fish caught by methods that don't comply with American standards. The suit stated that though the administration was required to halt gillnet-harvested imports, it did not.
Read more: https://www.leonardodicaprio.org/the-fight-to-save-the-vaquita-is-not-over-yet/
For those who may not have a background on this issue, a few points:
1. The Vaquita is a unique, shy, beautiful porpoise who is a one of a kind. There are only a few left, current estimates say less than 10. This isn't losing a regional population of a species with a broader range, vaquitas are only found in the Gulf of California. They are so shy, they were only seen by scientists in the 1970's and few pictures exist that are not of dead vaquitas (so I'm including a post of a painting).
2. The best thing for the vaquita and the fisherfolk would be a NO GO reserve. Research has shown that marine reserves IMPROVE fishing in the surrounding waters.
3. Species with historically low populations DO NOT have the inbreeding problems that result in other species that experience genetic bottlenecks. The current hypothesis is that all deleterious genes have been eliminated.
4. EXTINCTION IS FOREVER!!
5. Sea Shepherd needs your help.
6. This is NOT a historic fishery, as fishermen came to the area primarily to fish for the totoaba to send to the Chinese. In the past the fish were left to rot while the bladders were shipped.
7. Fishing gear that is safe for the vaquita does exist and sustainable catch should be supported so the fisherfolks can make a living. The government of Mexico has held back from permitting the new gear (reasons unknown).
This probably isn't coming through, but if you haven't seen pictures of a vaquita, there are some in my journal. I can't get the link directly from Flickr now as they are running maintenance.
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