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Bulletins

WWF México, Gulf of California Program. Progress Bi-monthly report “Riquezas del Golfo”

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References

Anonymous, 1979. Proceedings,
Workshop on Cetacean Sanctuaries, 4-9 February 1979. Tijuana
and Guerrero Negro, B.C., México. IUCN. Gland, Suiza.

Brownell, R.L.,Jr. 1982.
Status of the cochito, Phocoena sinus, in the Gulf of
California. Pages 85-90. In: FAO Advisory Committee on
Marine Resources Research, Working Party on Marine Mammals,
Mammals in the Seas. Vol. 4. Small Cetaceans, Seals, Sirenians
and Otters. Food and Agriculture Organization Fisheries
Series 4. Food and Agriculture Organization, Roma, Italia.

D’Agrosa, C., C.E. Lennert-Cody
y O. Vidal. 2000. Vaquita Bycatch in Mexico’s Artisanal
Gillnet Fisheries: Driving a Small Population to Extinction.
Conservation Biology. Vol. 14, No. 4: 1110-1119

Cudney-Bueno, Richard y P.
J. Turk-Boyer 1998. Pescando Entre Mareas del Alto Golfo
de California: Una Guía Sobre la Pesca Artesenal, Su Gente
y Sus Propuestas de Manejo, CEDO Intercultural, Puerto
Peñasco, Sonora, México. pp.1-166.

D’Agrosa, C., C.E. Lennert-Cody
y O. Vidal. 2000. Vaquita Bycatch in Mexico’s Artisanal
Gillnet Fisheries: Driving a Small Population to Extinction.
Conservation Biology. Vol. 14, No. 4: 1110-1119.

Diario Oficial de la Federación.
1974. Acuerdo que establece zona de Reserva. 30 de mayo
de 1974. pp. 12. (Official Federal Diary. 1974. Agreement
to establish the Reserve Zone. May 30, 1974. pp. 12.)

Diario Oficial de la Federación.
1975. Acuerdo que establece veda total para la totoaba.
1o. de agosto de 1975. (Official Federal Diary. 1975.
Agreement to establish total ban on totoaba. August 1,
1975.)

Diario Oficial de la Federación.
1993. Decreto por el que se declara área natural protegida.
10 de junio de 1993. pp. 24-28. (Official Federal Diary.
1993. Decree declaring protected natural area. June 10,
1993. pp. 24-28.)

Flanagan, C.A., y J.R. Hendrickson.
1976. Observations on the commercial fishery and reproductive
biology of the totoaba Cynoscion macdonaldi in the northern
Gulf of California, México. Fisheries Bulletin (U.S.)
74: 531-544.

Gallo-Reynoso, J. P. 1998.La
vaquita marina y su hábitat crítico en el Alto Golfo de
California. Gaceta Ecológica INE-SEMARNAP. 47:29-44.

Goodwin, H.A., y C.W. Holloway
(compiladores). 1978. International Union for Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources Red Data Book. Vol. 1.
Mammalia. IUCN, Morges, Suiza.

Instituto Nacional de Ecología
(SEMARNAP). 1995. Programa de Manejo: Areas Naturales
Protegidas, Reserva de la Biosfera Alto Golfo de California
y Delta del Río Colorado. (Management Plan: Protected
Natural Areas, Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River
Delta Biosphere Reserve.) México, D.F. 97 pp.

IUCN. 1990. Red List of Threatened
Animals. World Conservation Monitoring Centre, IUCN-The
World Conservation Union, Cambridge, U.K.

IUCN. 1996. International
Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Suiza.

Jaramillo L., A., L. Rojas
B. y T. Gerrodette. 1999. A New Abundance Estimate for
Vaquitas: First Step for Recovery. Marine Mammal Science.
15(4):957-973.

Norris, K.S., and J.H. Prescott.
1961. Observation on pacific cetaceans of Californian
and Mexican waters. Univ. California Publ. Zool. 63: 291-402.

Robles, A., L.T. Findley,
O. Vidal, R.L. Brownell, Jr., and S. Manzanilla. 1986.
Registros recientes y apariencia externa de la marsopa
del Golfo de California, o vaquita, Phocoena sinus Norris
& McFarland, 1958. XI Reunion Internacional Sobre Mamiferos
Marinos. Guaymas, Sonora. (Resumen).

Silber, G.K. 1987. Can the
vaquita be saved? Defenders. 62(3):14-15.

Silber, G.K. 1988. Report
from the field: Gulf of California, México. CEE Report,
Nov.

Silber, G.K. 1990. The vaquita,
Phocoena sinus, working paper. Institute of Marine Sciences,
University of California, Santa Cruz, California.

Turk-Boyer, P.J. 2001. Vaquita:
On the Brink of Extinction or Salvation? CEDO News 9(2):21-26.

Turk Boyer and Flores-Skydancer,
L. 2001. Turk-Boyer and Flores-Skydancer, L. 2001. Setting
the Stage for Conservation of the Vaquita in the Upper
Gulf of California: Results of the Workshop “The Vaquita,
Fisheries and their Future” held in the fishing communities
of the upper Gulf of California. Final Report to WWF.
CEDO. Puerto Peñasco, Son., México.

Twiss, J.R. and R.R. Reeves
(Eds). 1999. Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals.
Smithsonian Institution Press.

USFWS, 1985. Federal Register
Documents. Species Profile for Cochito. Species listed
as Endangered on January 09, 1985.

Vidal, O. 1995. Population
Biology and Incidental Mortality of the Vaquita, Phocoena
sinus, p. 552. In: A. Bjorge and G.P. Donovan (eds.),
Biology of the Phocoenids, vol. spec. issue 16: 247-272.
IWC, Cambridge.

Vidal, O., K. Van Waerebeek,
L.T. Findley, y G. Alvarez-Manilla. 1990. Ceteceans and
gillnet fisheries in México, Central America and the Caribbean:
a preliminary review. Working paper presented to IWC Symposium
on mortality of cetecean in passive nets and traps. La
Jolla, California, October 20-21, 1990. SC/090/G7.

Villa R., B. 1976. Report
on the status of Phocoena sinus, Norris and McFarland
1958, in the Gulf of California. Ann. Inst. Biol. Univ.
Nat. Auton. México 47, Ser. Zoología 2: 203-208.

Villa R., B. 1978. Especies
Mexicanas de Vertebrados Silvestres raras o en peligro
de extinción. Anales Inst. Biol. Univ. Nal. Autón. Méx.,
49. Ser. Zool. (1): 303-320.

Villa R., B. 1993. Recovery
Plan for the Vaquita, Phocoena sinus. Departamento de
Zoología, Instituto de Biología de la UNAM.

WWF, 2000. La Vaquita Marina.
Phocoena sinus. Publicación del WWF Programa Golfo de
California. Otoño 2000.

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History of the Conservation of Vaquita

Date	Event	Reference
1942	Peak of the totoaba fishery (2,261 ton), in which Vaquita are captured incidentally	Flanagan and Hendrickson, 1976
1955	The upper Gulf is protected as a “Refuge Zone”	INE, 1995
1961	The area of the upper Gulf is established as “Reserve Zone”	Norris y Prescott, 1961
1974	The area of the upper Gulf is established as “Reserve Zone”	Diario Oficial, 1974.
1975	Fishing totoaba is prohibited due to a drastic decline in the population. Other fisheries continue which are harmful to the Vaquita	Diario Oficial, 1975.
1976	Concern for the size and status of the population	Villa, 1976; Brownell, 1982.
1978	Vaquita is listed as “in danger of extinction” in the list of the Especies Mexicanas de Vertebrados Silvestres raras o en peligro de extinción.	Villa, 1978.
1978	Se lista en el libro rojo de la Comisión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (IUCN) como “Vulnerable”	Goodwin y Holloway, 1978
1979	Listed as “Vulnerable” in the red book of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)	Anonymous, 1979
1979	Listed in Appendix I of the International Convention in the Trafficking of Species in Danger of Extinction (CITES) as a “Species Totally Protected”	Twiss y Reeves, 1999
1983	Beginning of the experimental taking of totoaba with gillnets to estimate the population, during which Vaquita are captured incidentally	Vidal, 1995
1985	Vaquita is listed as a species “in danger of extinction” in the Endangered Species Act of the US, with a mandate for cooperative work between the US and Mexico to help its recovery	USFWS, 1985
1990	The IUCN changes the status of the Vaquita from “Vulnerable” to ” In Danger of Extinction”	IUCN, 1990
1992	Mexico establishes the Comité Técnico para la Preservación de la Totoaba y la Vaquita, with international consultants	Villa, 1993
1992	An Agreement of Collaboration is established for the “Program for Protection and Recovery of the Mexican Porpoise called Vaquita and the fish Totoaba”, by the Mexican Government and international civic organizations	Villa, 1993
1993	Mexico creates the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve. It does not include the complete range of distribution of the Vaquita in the nuclear zone.	Diario Oficial, 1993.
1993	Mexico develops the Plan for the Recovery of the Vaquita with help from the Marine Mammal Commission of the U.S.	Marine Mammal Commission, 1994
1994	NOM-059-ECOL y NOM-012-PESC.	Diario Oficial, 1994.
1995	The Mexican Government publishes the management plan for the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve and submits it to the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The plan includes the prohibition of fishing in the Colorado River Delta and all of the Reserve’s nuclear zone	INE, 1995.
1996	The IUCN lists the Vaquita as “in critical danger of extinction”	IUCN, 1996
1997	International census with line transects designed specifically to estimate the abundance of Vaquita in all its range of distribution, results in an estimate of 567 animals.	D’Agrosa et al.,2000
1997	Formation of the Comite Internacional para la Recuperacion de la Vaquita (CIRVA) and the first meeting concludes that the major risk factor is mortality in gillnets and recommends taking immediate action to reduce this risk	Jaramillo et al., 199
1998	First extensive study of small-scale fisheries in the upper Gulf and fishermen’s proposals for management	Cudney-Bueno y Turk-Boyer, 1998
1999	Second meeting of CIRVA recommends a series of steps in phases to protect the Vaquita	D’Agrosa et al.., 2000
2000	Joint Action Plan for the Recovery of Vaquita by the Joint Initiative for the Gulf of California and CIRVA	WWF, 2000
2001	Beginning to involve coastal fishermen in the search for solutions for the recovery of the Vaquita as a project of Centro Intercultural de Estudios de Desiertos y Océanos (CEDO)), with support from the Fondo Mundial para la Conservación de la Naturaleza de México, Región Golfo de California (WWF) and the Upper Gulf Reserve administration.	Turk-Boyer y Flores-Skydancer, 2001

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Gallery

Gallery - Vaquita Marina.

Foto: Gustavo Ybarra © WWF

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Factors that affect Vaquita Mortality

Parasites
Parasites have been found on the flukes of some Vaquita found entangled in nets. Three types of trematodes have been found in the intestines of dead Vaquitas. It is not known to what degree parasites affects Vaquita´s health.

Predation

Various fishermen from El Golfo de Santa Clara who caught Vaquitas in their nets notified researchers that between February and May of 1990 and 1991 they found parts of Vaquita in the stomachs of several species of large sharks, including some species of sharks: the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), the lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris), the blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus), two species of thresher shark (Alopias superciliosus and Alopias vulpinus), and the broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus). Some vaquita tangled in nets showed scars on their flukes from teeth that could be shark or killer whale, and there have been sightings of killer whales and also of other species of sharks, like the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna spp.) and bull shark (Charcharhinus leucas), among others. However there have been no direct reports of attacks on vaquita by these species of sharks or by killer whales.

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Mexican waters become a giant whale sanctuary

Hermosillo, Mexico.- Mexican seas and its exclusive economic zone (200 miles from the coastline), became a giant sanctuary and refuge for whales since past 24th of May, acording to announcement published in the Mexican Official Gazzete, thanks to the efforts of WWF Mexico by lobbying, and Greenpeace with the proposal.

The mexican whales will have guaranteed its reproduction circle, borning, growing, learning, feeding and migrating, important phases for this cetaceans, also their habitat won´t be exposed to human explotation.

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Description and Clasification

Description:

During the 1970s and 1980s, scientists described the skeleton of the Vaquita and measured various specimens stranded on the beaches and recovered from the nets of local fishermen. The specimens that were examined ranged from 70.3 to 150 cm in length. The data suggested that females reach a maximum size of approximately 150 cm and the males around 140 cm. The weights recorded ranged from 7.8 kg in young Vaquita up to 55 kg in physically mature Vaquitas. This probably represents the maximum weight of adult female Vaquitas. The Vaquita is the smallest porpoise and the smallest of all cetaceans.

Vaquita Marina

The number of spade-like teeth typical of porpoise is between 17 to 21 in the upper jaw and 17 to 20 in the lower jaw. The teeth are useful in identifying stranded animals. Since often only a skull is found on the beach, the shape and number of teeth are helpful in determining which species the skull belongs to. The pectoral fins of Phocoena sinus are longer and the dorsal fin taller in proportion to the body length, than in other species of porpoise.

The pectoral fins of Phocoena sinus are longer and the dorsal fin taller in proportion to the body length, than in other species of porpoise.

The coloration of Vaquitas is unique. In adults, the dorsal surface is dark gray, the sides are pale gray and the ventral surface is white with some long, light gray markings. This porpoise has a large dark ring around the eyes and dark patches on the lips that form a thin line from the mouth to the pectoral fins. In the newborn, the coloration is darker than in adults, particularly in the head and in the areas behind the eyes. There is a wide gray fringe of color that runs from the head to the dorsal flukes, passing through the dorsal and pectoral fins.

Adult size: Females: 135-150 cm; males: 128-145 cm.

Size at birth:67-75 cm .

Adult weight: Approximately 55 kg.

Birth weight: 7.5-10 kg.

Reproduction: Probably in spring or summer.

Gestation: Probably 11 months

Nursing period: Probably 6 to 8 months.

Birth: Spring

Reproductive cycle: One calf every two years.

Diet: Squid, croakers, bairdiella corvineta.

Distribution: Only in the Northern region of the Gulf of California.

Population size: Estimated around 600 individuals.

Natural mortality: Predation by sharks and killer whales.

Mortality caused by humans: Fisheries by catch, habitat modification.

Status: The most threatened marine cetacean in the world, in imminent danger of extinction.

Conservation: Protection of the entire species, protected areas, restriction of fishing activities. The only way to avoid extinction of Vaquita by human causes is through the joint efforts of fishermen, biologists, educators, authorities, conservationists, researchers and local communities in the upper Gulf of California.

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The Vaquita is a cetacean

Cetaceans are a subgroup of mammals, mostly marine, distinguished among other things, for living their entire life in water. Adaptations for a totally aquatic life include changes in external body form to subtle physiological changes that allow for life in salt water.

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Frequently asked questions

1.- Why is it important to have a campaign to save the Marine Vaquita?
Mexico has the privilege of having this species - the Marine Vaquita - in its territory. This species is exclusively native to the Upper Gulf of California, that is, it can not be found anywhere else in the world. Since 1990, the World Conservancy Union has classified the Marine Vaquita as an “Endangered Species” and recently, as being “In critical danger of extinction”. In Mexico, it is listed under the NOM 059 ECOL 1994 as an endangered species.

2.- Is it still possible to save the Marine Vaquita with its remaining population?
The Marine Vaquita has developed in deep isolation, which enables the species to face a decrease in its population without losing its genetic features. Experience has shown that endangered species can recover their population if the causes that threaten them are faced and significantly decreased. The best example thereof is the gray whale that was an endangered species due to whaling activities and by prohibiting such activities, its population has fully recovered.

3. There are those who assert the Marine Vaquita is already in extinction, so then, does it makes any sense to do anything for this species?
The best proof that it still exists is the fact that specimens continue being caught and dying in fishermen’s nets, which also demonstrates its presence in the region and the threats it faces. Marine Vaquita is a species that can not be easily observed, since it flees when boats appear and remains under the water for several minutes without having to come out to breathe. A more reliable and recent evaluation of the Vaquita population estimates only 567 specimens exist. This figure is within a statistical reliability range that locates the reliability interval at about 177 to 1,074 Vaquita specimens. It is estimated that between 39 to 84 Marine Vaquitas die every year as by-catches.

4. Which is the Marine Vaquita’s main cause of death?
The main threat to Marine Vaquitas is by-catch mortality in gill nets, as well as alterations to the habitat due to use of trawler nets in the buffer zone (area that surrounds the site where the largest number of Vaquitas is concentrated) of the “Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta” Biosphere Reserve. Marine Vaquitas require to come out to the surface to breathe, but they are trapped in these fishing nets and drown. It has been noted that Marine Vaquitas are also trapped during other fishing activities for catching Spanish mackerel, silver perch, shrimp and other species, are used.

5. What measures are being proposed to save the Marine Vaquita?
Experience has shown that endangered species can recover their population if the causes that threaten them are faced and significantly decreased. The best example thereof is the gray whale that was an endangered species due to whaling activities and by prohibiting such activities, its population has fully recovered. In the case of the Vaquita, the limit of by-catch mortality estimated to prevent extinction amounts to 0.2% annually, that is, a zero by-catch mortality rate has to be guaranteed in order to achieve the species’ effective recovery.

Eliminating risk factors for Vaquitas is a serious issue, since it has enormous political, cultural, social and economic implications in local communities. Nonetheless, it can be achieved by implementing fishing regulations and enforcing the law. By enforcing these instruments, coastal fishermen are willing to stop using nets that catch a larger number of Vaquitas, that is gill nets with mesh sizes larger than three inches, since they could catch shrimp with nets and have a much smaller number of by-catches than boats. It is estimated that in this way there would be an immediate 65% reduction in Vaquita mortality. Lastly, it is also important to modify the present boundaries of the Upper Gulf of California Biosphere Reserve in order to include every habitat in the entire area of distribution of this species, since presently, its boundaries only include 60% of its area, the remaining 40% being unprotected.

6. Which is the proposal for affected communities and sectors?
Our proposal is based on an understanding of cultural, social and economic aspects that allow to redirect fishing activities toward the use of fishing technologies that are not harmful for the Marine Vaquita and its habitat, as well as on furthering other alternative economic activities that satisfy growing demands of regional social development.

The socio-economic strategy intends to promote economically feasible, socially and culturally acceptable, lawfully permissible and environmentally sustainable alternative productive activities.

To attain this purpose, it is necessary for any proposal to comply with the following criteria:

a) Economic alternatives should address the expectations and needs of the interested parties, providing equal or larger benefits than present productive activities;
b) All parties interested or affected should actively participate in the design of these alternatives; and
c) Plans should become a reality as soon as possible, with an orderly project execution and expected results that are relevant and evident for the interested parties, within the scheduled times.

To insure success, it is necessary for the benefits of the Strategy to become evident to the interested parties in the shortest time possible, allowing the efforts to continue. With this in mind, projects that result in a rapid yield and that have a proven cost-benefit efficiency will be promoted during the Strategy’s early implementation phases. It is also crucial for fishermen to be aware of the benefits of conservation, to be convinced to change their way to obtain income and to become sensitized, to be trained and informed on environmental aspects, as well as those which the Strategy intends to improve.

Direct participation of the inhabitants and their social and labor organizations in the design of these alternatives will be supported and promoted. Furthermore, the population will be informed as regards different private and governmental sources of financing and support to increase the viability of businesses and income sources that will be created.

On the other hand, the organizations involved and committed with the Strategy will make sure that the national and international finance organizations that support sustainable development, become acquainted with the Strategy and put at the disposal of the interested parties, relevant information to have access to such funds. Lastly, a fundamental requirement is to have the Government’s political will, since the Strategy can only be implemented through the coordinated actions of several agencies at the three governmental levels and with the active participation of all social actors involved.

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Threats to Vaquita’s habitat that could affect recuperation

Given the limited geographic distribution of Vaquita, the condition of that habitat plays an important role in determining the status of the population. Any change in the habitat could affect the well being and recovery of the Vaquita.

Reduction in Colorado River flow
The flow of water from the Colorado River has been greatly reduced by dams and other water projects in Southwestern U.S. and to a lesser extent, in Northwestern Mexico. Today freshwater flows from the Colorado River reach the Delta only in years of heavy precipitation. Some investigators assume that this reduced flow has caused a drastic change in the ecosystem. For example, the low salinity estuarine conditions that prevailed prior to these flow reductions have been replaced by negative hypersaline estuarine conditions in the Delta, and these changes could have caused alterations in the food web and in biological diversity. However, there isn’t sufficient information to confirm this hypothesis. The available evidence suggests that the Colorado River Delta acts like a very fertile coastal lagoon, maintaining abundant populations of crustaceans and mollusks, and other species use this habitat for feeding and as a refuge.

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