Letter sent from IUCN SSC regarding strengthening protection measures for the vaquita
On 14th August 2021, the Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, Jon Paul Rodríguez sent a letter to members of the Government of Mexico, the Government of the US, Government of Canada, the Trilateral Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Government of China, European Union, CITES Secretariat, World Heritage Center and the Global Environment Facility requesting immediate actions from governments, international bodies and potential donors to help to save the vaquita.
The letter explained that the most urgent is the need for technical, financial and legal support to the Mexican government and civil society to ensure effective implementation of conservation actions: scientific vaquita monitoring, equipping and training local fisherfolk to use legally mandated gear, continual removal of illegal gillnets from vaquita habitat, and training and increased resources for law enforcement. It also urged the Grupo Intergubernamental sobre la Sustentabilidad en el Alto Golfo de California to modify the so‐called “Trigger Factors” agreement published 9 July 2021, which is a complex fisheries management program that will be almost impossible to implement and enforce and which undermines the legal commitment to Zero Tolerance in the very small (280 km2) area where the last few vaquitas remain.
The letter can be read in full here.