Dolphins on the cliff-should we let the vaquita go?

Dolphins on the cliff-should we let the vaquita go?

This is an excerpt from Andrew Revkin of Columbia Climate School on his new paper What dispatch to maintain At Bulletin.com. Read the rest here.

With the mother and cubs among the last nine or so dolphins, recovery is still possible-quickly helping to stop the deadly net. I am going to log off the vaquita. But this is a rare example in which a small, specific investment—$178,000 to deploy two ships for three weeks in September—can help save an endangered cetacean species.

You almost certainly know calf, This critically endangered baby dolphin is trapped in a dead-end niche and surrounded by danger at the northern end of the Gulf of California in Mexico.

These marine mammals Drowned when entangled in a transparent gillnet The local fleet set up a large endangered fish called totoaba Black market sources A dried fish maw smuggled into China, and Precious blue shrimp.

The illegal fishing blitz in recent years has turned the rapid decline in the number of 20 years into a shocking free fall. There are less than 10 vaquita surviving today, including several mothers with calves. Latest expert estimates.

In 2019, environmentalists photographed two small-headed vaquita near a boat that set up gillnets in the “zero tolerance” fishing zone. CONANP/Museo de la Ballena/Sea Shepherd

In mid-July, when President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office, the situation deteriorated further. Angry environmentalist And the scientists announced Mexico relaxes protection For what was once vital”zero tolerance“The no-fishing zone in the center of the small refuge for this species.

Considering the ruthless Chinese totou trade and the power of the Mexican cartel, it’s easy to view the loss of the last few vaquita as another tragic and outrageous data point that has slipped to a large scale for a long time.”Sixth extinction“——The destruction of global biodiversity by mankind continues.

In fact, when I started drafting this newsletter last week, A series of New York Times posts, I am going to abandon the game and say that the conservation community should divert attention and limited resources to other places.

But several interviews with experienced experts in recent days have changed my view, especially because the public can now do something to help when the wheels of international diplomacy and trade law are spinning. Before the next surge in gillnet fishing in September, deploying two observation vessels already in the area to the vital no-fishing zone requires only a wealthy philanthropist or thousands of ordinary people to pay a very modest fee . (Details are as follows.)

What is particularly convincing is Barbara Taylor, A senior scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has been involved in vaquita monitoring expeditions for many years, analysis and research Use an array Auditory equipment Assess the size and dynamics of the population.

Four reasons for hope

You can watch Our full interview On YouTube, but this is the core of Taylor’s argument that provides a fighter meeting for the last vaquita:

• She said the survivors were cunning and elusive, and their scars and behavior showed that they were aware of the risks posed by the risk net.
• It is estimated that there will be three calves in 2019-all obese and healthy-indicating that the remaining females are prolific breeders.
• recent Genome analysis of vaquita Shows that they are unlikely to face genetic bottlenecks that sometimes threaten the recovery of deeply depleted species.
• Finally, Taylor said, there are examples of other species, including marine mammals, which have recovered very well from minimal numbers after their devastating slaughter. She was particularly excited about the legend of the northern elephant seal that was declared extinct in 1884. Found a small population On an island on the Pacific coast of Mexico. There are now 300,000.

Many last-chance species, such as the California condor, had to be kept in captivity to restore health, and Vaquita failed.

But for other species, Taylor said, all it takes is “Stop killing them. “

Biden role

Depending on the scale of international diplomacy, protection, and trade agreements, the United States can do a lot to help turn things around. Wanda Fairbab-BrownSenior Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology. But she pointed out in an interview that in almost all aspects, Mexico must take the first step—especially because without evidence of progress, strict trade sanctions and other measures already taken under the United States’ long-term protection laws cannot be lifted.

Watch our interview here. Felbab-Brown’s core views are described in two recent reviews. one, Pay attention to how Mexico resumes its precious seafood trade Co-authored with Alejandro Castillo López, Deputy Director of Marine Conservation and Sustainable Fisheries of the United States in May Northwest PronaturaBut their main recommendation, which is to stop fishing in “zero tolerance” areas, is exactly the opposite of what the Mexican government announced in its latest vaquita protection update.

In a new articleKristin Nowell, executive director of Felbab-Brown, and conservation organization Cetacean Action Treasure, described a possible approach for the Biden administration, focusing on addressing the core driver of the decline in the vaquita population-Mexican drug dealers near the town of San Felipe Most illegal fishing activities are increasing there.

They wrote:

“Two months ago Six fishermen were shot and killed in broad daylight. The unprecedented coordinated assassination was related to the son of drug lord El Chapo and the Sinaloa Cartel.No one was arrested, and bilateral security cooperation against cartels is still frozen to a large extent because Mexico’s Security Law of December 2020 That Visceral meaningful cooperation Arrest the ex in retaliation against the U.S. Mexican Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos is involved in drugsIf the United States moves quickly to help Mexico solve the vaquita problem, it can make progress not only in avoiding species extinction, but also in rebuilding anti-crime partnerships that are vital to US security. “

But again, Mexico must take the first step, Feuerbabu-Brown said in our interview. So far, the Mexican president has not shown much willingness to fight crime. She said there are signs that some in the Mexican government believe that the extinction of the vaguita “is actually the best result, because then they don’t have to struggle with law enforcement and political influence.”

She warned against this sentiment: “It may take years to prove that the vaquita has become extinct, and in those years, the US economic sanctions on the seafood industry can continue. Therefore, even for very pure economic interests. Nor should we accept the false hope that species extinction will eliminate the problem.”

Read the rest Here, you can also learn how to help the two patrol ships sail out of disputed waters this fall to quickly take effect.

This is an excerpt from Andrew Revkin of Columbia Climate School on his new paper What dispatch to maintain On Bulletin.com, the platform hosts independent writers from Malcolm Gladwell to Malala Yousafzai. Revkin’s report there is based on his climate school What webcast to maintain And his work here It aims to promote communication and influence in complex issues such as the climate crisis and global protection challenges.You can follow his output Register here.