An Overview Of Our Solution
EFFORTS TO SAVE Phocoena sinus FROM EXTINCTION THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Océans/Côtes
Community Type
Urbain
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Amérique du Nord
Problem
Describe the problem
The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the smallest living cetacean, with a maximum length of 1.5 m is found only in an area of roughly 5,000 Km2 in the Upper Gulf of California. The vaquita has the most limited geographic distribution of all cetaceans and is the only one endemic to Mexico. At the present, only about 245 vaquitas survive. The vaquita is listed as critically endangered by IUCN; it´s greatest threat is death by entanglement in gillnets used by fisherman in artisanal shrimp and finfish fisheries (Photo 1 and 2). However, these fisheries is the principal productive activity in the region. The most feasible mechanism to further avoid vaquita extinction is to switch these fisheries currently using gillnets into alternative fishing gears which do not cause vaquita bycatch.
Biodiversity Impact
In the past four years, the Mexican government has made an unprecedented commitment to save the vaquita putting an end to the gillnet mortality and offering fishermen viable alternative livelihoods. To date, the government has invested over US$ 20 million to bring the gill nets out of the water through buy-outs, rent-outs, and swap-outs. Buy-outs offer compensation to fishermen surrendering their gear and licenses going into alternative livelihoods. Rent-outs are agreements whereby fishermen are compensated for not fish for a specified period of time. Swap-outs offer compensation and technical assistance to those fishermen willing to change to alternative, vaquita-friendly, fishing gear and methods. This latter alternative has been the responsibility of Mexico’s National Fisheries Institute (Instituto Nacional de Pesca, INAPESCA). In order to develop fishing gear alternatives to gill nets, in 2009 INAPESCA tested several prototypes which included pots, modified cast nets named Suriperas (Photo 3), trawl nets, fish aggregation devices, and hooks and lines (watch video1 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xW1s5m0ty4). Species targeted were shrimp, finfish, sharks, rays mollusks and other crustaceans with some degree of success. In the case of shrimp there is now an opportunity to switch from gill nets to a prototype trawl net to catch blue shrimp (Litopenaeus stilyrostris) and brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus californiensis). Work is underway seeking best fishing alternatives for the other species.
Solution
Since 1991 the IWC Scientific Committee has recommended that conservation actions must be taken immediately to eliminate bycatch of the vaquita in the northernmost Gulf of California to prevent its extinction. In 2007, an IWC resolution urged ƒ??the members of the IWC and the world community to support Mexicoƒ??s efforts to prevent the extinction of the vaquita by reducing bycatch to zero in the immediate future, and assisting in providing financial resources and technical as well as socio-economic expertiseƒ?. This research project relates to several previously established priority topics of the IWC Scientific Committeeƒ??s Sub-Committee on small cetaceans, including; bycatch mitigation (Grenada IWC 2000), review of significant directed and incidental catches of small cetaceans (Reykjavik IWC 1992), population biology and exploitation of the porpoises, Phocoenidae (Netherlands IWC 1991), incidental take of cetaceans in gillnet fisheries (Bournemouth IWC 1987), and exploited populations of phocoenids, including Phocoena sinus (Cambridge IWC 1984). At the present, we have an alternative gear for shrimp fishery which is the most important fishery of the region. The prototype net has been demonstrating its efficiency for fish shrimp over 3,000 sets during 2009-2010 shrimp season (Photo 4). During these fishing activities, not a single vaquita was catch and the trawl prototype show also that is highly selective to avoid finfish bycatch through several excluder devices implemented (watch video2 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3m9tN7uPZ4 ). // The fishing area is located in the northernmost Gulf of California, included two Mexican States (Sonora and Baja California). There are 3 fishing communities with nearly 70,000 people whose depends mainly of the fishing activity. There is an available fishing space of 274,000 Ha. Inside the fishing area there is a ban area named "vaquita protected polygon" with 126,400 Ha over which is not allowed fish with gill nets, so the use of alternative gears could expand the total fishing area over 400,000 Ha (Photo 5).
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 2 years // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? No // This research is directly linked to an urgently needed conservation outcome – the reduction of bycatch of one of the most critically endangered cetacean species in the world-. The recommendations that this research project will generate, on the most economically and environmentally appropriate fishing gear technologies for use in the Upper Gulf of California, will provide the essential scientific foundation for a full elimination of gillnet use in the region, and subsequent reduction in vaquita bycatch. for accomplish with this ambitious aim, we have financial support from the government to continue with the fishing trials onboard a research vessel during 2012, however these experimental activities requires time and more budgets that the government can provide, so we are been looking for additional financial support in order to get more time on board testing alternative gears and funds for start with workshops and training for transfer the technology to fishermen.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
At the present there are 204 permits of 1,412 which are been switch the gill nets into alternative gears: prototype trawl nets for shrimp and long lines for finfish and shark. these switch licenses are been financial supported from the government for fishing gear acquisition and fishing operation expenditures, including improvements of vessels, outboard engines and electronic equipment as video sounders, GPS devices and small winches gasoline operates for gear recovering . There are also involved others stakeholders as World Wildlife Funds in order to look for international markets to reach better market prices for fishing products obtained without vaquita impacts. We expect that during the next two years we can switch the remain licenses to take out of the water the 100% of gill nets in the region, without economical impacts to the fishermen. // At the end of the project in 2012, INAPESCA would make specific recommendations to national authorities National Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CONAPESCA) and National Wild Protected Areas Commission (CONANP) on the most suitable fishing options to be promoted among local fishers for replacing gillnets as well as to include those in the Federal Regulations for fishing activity into a protected biosphere area and into the Normatively for the fishing sustainable species as shrimp, sharks and finfish. A public technical report would be jointly produced by INAPESCA and WWF and would be made available on WWF-Mexico´s and INAPESCA´s websites. At the end of the project, WWF and INAPESCA would also submit for publication in the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management a paper describing and evaluating the variety of alternative fishing gears jointly tested by both institutions at the Upper Gulf of California over the past four years, and outlining their efficiency in reducing vaquita bycatch.