August 19, 2009
From: NRDC Action Alert

Baja California, Mexico

Help protect endangered porpoise from shrimp trawling

Following three years of intense pressure from our BioGems Defenders, Mexico recently stepped up efforts to save the last remaining 150 vaquita marinas -- a small porpoise which lives only in Mexico's Upper Gulf of California. NRDC and local partners gained concrete protections for the porpoise when Mexico implemented a plan to reduce the number of fishermen, exchange harmful nets for vaquita-safe fishing gear, and establish a temporary no-fishing zone in the vaquita refuge. But now, the refuge is under threat. In mid-July, local trawling fleets submitted a proposal to conduct shrimp trawling in the Upper Gulf Biosphere Reserve and the vaquita refuge, starting as early as September.

» Ask the Mexican government to reject the proposal and prohibit all fishing within the vaquita marina refuge.