Submitted by
Randall.REEVES
on Tue, 01/16/2018 - 16:21
General Information
Resolution
46434
IUCN Constituent
IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group 2017-2020
IUCN Constituent type
IUCN Species Survival Commission 2017-2020
Period covered
Geographic scope
North America and the Caribbean
Country/Territory
Mexico
United States of America
Actors involved in implementing this Resolution:
IUCN Members
SecretarÃa de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales ( Mexico )
Chicago Zoological Society ( United States of America )
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce ( United States of America )
Association of Zoos and Aquariums ( United States of America )
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance ( United States of America )
IUCN Commissions
F717E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
IUCN Secretariat
No
Other non-IUCN related organisations
The Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito, California), Marine Mammal Commission (Bethesda, Maryland), National Marine Mammal Foundation (San Diego, California), Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Aquafarms, Museo de la Ballena, WWF Mexico, World Animal Protection, Parley
II. Implementation
Activities carried out to implement this Resolution
Activity
Education/Communication/Raising awareness
Description and results/achievements of activities:
Nearly all of the groups, organizations and individuals listed have in one way or another contributed to this. Of particular note, the Cetacean Specialist Group's website (http://www.iucn-csg.org/) has served as a go-to place for updated information on the vaquita conservation crisis, including the site for posting the reports of CIRVA. In addition, SEMARNAT, the Marine Mammal Commission, and the National Marine Mammal Foundation.
Status
On-going
Activity
Field activities
Description and results/achievements of activities:
Removal of illegal and derelict fishing gear from area of vaquita occurrence, recovery and necropsy of dead vaquitas, support of Mexican enforcement agencies, implementation of effort to capture live vaquitas for protection in captive environment (this was suspended after 6 weeks, with no positive outcome) -- all other efforts mentioned are ongoing
Status
On-going
Activity
Fundraising
Description and results/achievements of activities:
The Marine Mammal Center has taken a lead role in this, and for the CPR (live-capture) work the National Marine Mammal Foundation co-led the fundraising work.
Status
Completed
Activity
Policy influencing/advocacy
Description and results/achievements of activities:
CIRVA has gone well beyond its scientific advisory role in recent years and worked hard along with NOAA in particular to advocate for stronger enforcement of fishing regulations and many other policy aspects (net removal, cooperation with CITES offices and enforcement agencies in the US and China/Hong Kong to interdict the illegal trade in totoaba swim bladders,
Status
_none
Activity
Scientific/technical activities
Description and results/achievements of activities:
Support for UNESCO World Heritage site evaluation (completed), regular convening and reporting by CIRVA (international vaquita recovery team) to provide oversight of field activities, population assessment, threat identification and tracking (all ongoing)
Status
_none
Describe any challenges encountered in implementing this Resolution and the measures taken
The vaquita has no economic value. The killing of vaquitas is not intentional. The economic value of the totoaba is extremely high so the incentive for illegal fishing is strong. Fishery management in the Upper Gulf has always been weak. Vaquitas are hard to detect and follow. All parties listed have done various things to overcome the challenges.
Identify and briefly describe what future actions/activities are planned for the implementation of this Resolution
Future action / activity
Policy influencing/advocacy
Description
Many of the groups listed will continue to work to influence policies, promoting measures that would strengthen enforcement (including prosecution and harsh penalties for illegal fishing), enable local fishing communities to prosper without depending on fisheries that put vaquitas at risk, and halt the illegal commerce in totoaba swim bladders.
Future action / activity
Scientific/technical activities
Description
Efforts by several groups including some in the Mexican government are continuing to remove gillnets from the vaquita's habitat, develop and field-test vaquita-safe fishing methods, monitor the population via passive acoustics, ensure carcasses are recovered and necropsied, and analyze the information and data collected to data to assess trends and identify ways to improve the prospects for species recovery.
III. Additional Information
Report status
Published
Constituent type
IUCN Species Survival Commission 2017-2020