Mexico implements plan to save endangered vaquita porpoise
Mexico implements plan to save endangered vaquita porpoise
Apr 16, 8:14 PM EDT
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- President Enrique Pena Nieto formally inaugurated a plan Thursday to save the critically endangered vaquita marina, the world's smallest porpoise found only in the Sea of Cortez.
There are fewer than 100 vaquitas left and the head of the World Wildlife Fund in Mexico, Omar Vidal, called the shy, elusive porpoise "an emblematic species for Mexico, the equivalent of the panda for China." The vaquita is threatened by gillnet fishing for totoaba, a huge fish whose swim bladder is prized by chefs in China.
The new measures will prohibit gill nets in much of the upper Sea of Cortez, which is also known as the Gulf of California. Such nets are usually aimed at totoaba, but accidentally catch vaquitas.
Pena Nieto handed over keys to new patrol boats to be used by the navy to enforce the net ban. In a ceremony in the Baja California town of San Felipe, he noted that cooperation from local fishermen will be key to making the plan work. The $37 million initiative includes funds to compensate fishermen for lost income.
More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_MEXICO_ENDANGERED_PORPOISE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-04-16-17-52-27
Environment & energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=edit&forum=1127&thread=84148
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