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LancairDriver
Super Nomad
Posts: 1592
Registered: 2-22-2008
Location: On the Road
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So now the Cartels are getting involved. Diversifying it looks like.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/08/07/mexican-tra...
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
Isn't shrimping more destructive to other sea life? |
Very much so, have seen threads suggesting buying San Felipe
shrimp either by the kilo or in restaurants, the purchaser then
is helping create a market, becoming responsible for shrimp
trawler destructive fishing techniques. The sea floor is raked by the draggers, killing/disrupting everything in it's way.. Some
wrongly claim panga caught shrimp is a clean fishery, no so, there is by catch there too. One has to be on board with conservation/preservation, not
just when posting PC opinions
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64754
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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So are you advocating we can't eat shrimp either, even though it is a legal food? Isn't there some shrimp farms trying to produce shrimp so it won't
come from the sea anymore?
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 18130
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
So are you advocating we can't eat shrimp either, even though it is a legal food? Isn't there some shrimp farms trying to produce shrimp so it won't
come from the sea anymore? |
I generally avoid shrimp now. The wild shrimp trawl methods are harmful to the environment. The farm shrimp tastes like crap, and is often full of
pesticides.
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redhilltown
Super Nomad
Posts: 1130
Registered: 1-24-2009
Location: Long Beach, CA
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
So are you advocating we can't eat shrimp either, even though it is a legal food? Isn't there some shrimp farms trying to produce shrimp so it won't
come from the sea anymore? |
If this was 1955 would you argue the "legality" of serving the negro at the same counter as the white man? (not saying you would, just making the
analogy.) If something is wrong, it is wrong. If you know what shrimping does to the ocean and you continue to eat it, that is your right...but it
doesn't make it "right".
Shrimp farms-especially in Asia-are brutal and probably as bad overall as trawlers. There are some well run farms in Florida but from what my friends
say, they often sell out quickly. Maybe some nomads could chime in on some good ones.
But I am glad all of this is being discussed...I am sure at least a few have gone to The Google and done some research as to fishing methods in the
Sea of Cortez.
[Edited on 8-8-2014 by redhilltown]
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Aqsurfer
Junior Nomad
Posts: 78
Registered: 7-6-2004
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Hola Nomads,
New Vaquita article from the San Diego Union-Tribune. It recaps the situation and highlights the split between fishers for and against a possible
gill-net ban. Also good maps of proposed ban area and photos.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/10/vaquita-porpoise-...
Peace,
Aaron
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64754
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Aqsurfer
Hola Nomads,
New Vaquita article from the San Diego Union-Tribune. It recaps the situation and highlights the split between fishers for and against a possible
gill-net ban. Also good maps of proposed ban area and photos.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/aug/10/vaquita-porpoise-...
Peace,
Aaron |
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Aqsurfer
Junior Nomad
Posts: 78
Registered: 7-6-2004
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Hola Nomads,
September 1 is decision day for the proposed gillnet ban.
National Geographic article from August 13:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140813-vaqui...
Virginia Morell
for National Geographic
PUBLISHED AUGUST 13, 2014
The vaquita, a small porpoise found only in the Gulf of California, is rapidly going extinct, an international team of scientists reported earlier
this month.
The researchers say that the marine mammals—whose name means "little cow" in Spanish—are accidentally drowning in the gill nets local fishers deploy
for fish and shrimp. A mere 97 vaquitas remain.
Vaquitas are shy creatures, and rarely seen, except when they're pulled to the surface—dead—in nets. They've been known to science only since 1958,
when three skulls were found on a beach. At the time, it was thought that they numbered in the low thousands. Scientists and fishers alike say the
animals, with their pretty facial markings ("they look like they're wearing lipstick and mascara," one scientist said) and sleek bodies, are
endearing.
There's danger now that the porpoises will become the second cetacean (the first was the baiji, or Chinese river dolphin) to succumb to human
pressures, most likely disappearing forever by 2018.
"It's a complete disappointment for everybody, because we've all been working hard to turn this around, and the [Mexican] government has addressed
this from the highest level possible," said Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, a cetacean conservation specialist at Mexico's Commission of Natural Protected Areas
and a member of the team.
Indeed, the Mexican government established a presidential commission on vaquita conservation in 2012, when scientists estimated the porpoise's
population at 200.
Map of Gulf of California showing the range of the vaquita porpoise, along with the vaquita reserve, nearby biosphere reserve, and proposed gill-net
exclusion zone.
MAGGIE SMITH, NG STAFF. SOURCES: INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE RECOVERY OF THE VAQUITA; IUCN; UNEP-WCMC
Failing Measures
To stem the vaquitas' decline, in 2005 Mexico created a refuge for them, banned all commercial fishing in the refuge's waters, beefed up enforcement,
and invested more than $30 million (U.S.) to compensate fishers and encourage them to switch to other fishing methods.
It also established the international scientific team to monitor the porpoise's population, reproductive rates, and habitat. Its members hail from
such august conservation bodies as the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the International Whaling Commission, the U.S. Marine Mammal
Commission, and Norway's Institute of Marine Research.
All were optimistic then. "We thought we were going to see the vaquitas' numbers increasing by 4 percent a year," said Barbara Taylor, a marine
biologist with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in San Diego, California, and a member of the team. "Instead, they've had a catastrophic decline
of 18.5 percent per year."
Chinese Demand—But Not for Vaquitas
That decline, Rojas-Bracho said, is "all due to illegal fishing that is out of control."
In the past three years, illegal gillnetting for the totoaba, a critically endangered fish that can grow to more than six feet long (1.8 meters) and
300 pounds (136 kilograms), has surged. Unfortunately, the porpoise and the similarly sized totoaba live in the same parts of the gulf.
The totoaba's swim bladder, highly prized as a traditional health food and medicine in China, can fetch thousands of dollars. Few fishers can resist
the temptation.
"It's like trying to control traffic while someone's throwing money from the Empire State Building," said Rojas-Bracho, who learned of the extent of
this illegal take from several fishers who are also on the presidential commission.
The team estimates that about 435 miles (700 kilometers) of legal nets are in the water every day during the fishing season, from mid-September to
mid-June. "And that's not counting the illegal nets for the totoaba," Taylor says.
Last-Ditch Solution
Because of the vaquita's timid nature (a sighting at 300 feet [90 meters] is considered close), scientists can't make visual counts of the animals.
They rely instead on an array of special acoustic devices, deployed every year before the fishing season begins (they too are easily tangled in the
nets), to record the sounds of the animals as they forage in the murky waters they favor. From these sounds, the researchers are able to estimate the
vaquitas' numbers.
Because the animal's population is so low, the team says there is only one solution: Ban all gillnetting in the gulf's upper regions, including the
waters surrounding the vaquitas' refuge. The ban must be strictly applied, even to the legal shrimp and fin fish fishery, and enforced with more
police patrols on sea and land.
"It's a hard choice," Taylor acknowledges. Such a ban will hurt all the fishers, including those who aren't engaged in the illegal fishery. But, she
said, if Mexico doesn't do that, it "will lose the vaquita."
Rojas-Bracho said that Mexico, China, and the United States governments also need to work together to control—if not end—the trade in totoaba swim
bladders. The dried bladders are often smuggled across the U.S. border before ending up in the Chinese marketplace.
There is a modicum of hope. Even at only 97 animals (25 of them believed to be females of reproductive age), the species can still be saved, Taylor
believes. "Most marine mammals, including other cetaceans, that have been taken down through hunting have come back, so it's not too late. But if
nothing is done, they can also go extinct rapidly, as happened with the baiji. They can be gone before you know it."
The commission will meet again at the end of August to discuss what to do next to save the vaquita.
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worldsaquarium
Newbie
Posts: 14
Registered: 7-17-2014
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Thanks for the accurate info Aaron! Last Ocotober I spend 5 days in San Felipe working on a special report about La Vaquita. Here is the story I
posted, http://sancarlos.tv/in-search-of-la-vaquita-marina/,
The video is finished and is uploading at the moment and I will post the link when it is done. The Mexican government can still save La Vaquita Marina
and I would like to share a few things I have learned over the last 8 months researching Vaquita.
First off no animal every went extinct because of a lack of genetic diversity. Several vaquita researchers have told me that the population has always
had relatively low numbers so a small population should not be an issue.
As for the damning of the Colorado there is no doubt it destroyed the delta but all researchers I spoke with did not believe that was a real issue for
Vaquita.
The real issue is quite simple and Aaron has done a wonderful job of explaining it but there is one thing that should be mentioned. Vaquita
populations will be in jeporady for decades; so a 3 to 5 year complete ban on gill nets is not going to be the answer. Gill nets have to go away for
ever, period!
The current guys in charge of Profepa down in San Felipe need to be sacked and new people installed and a serious amount of money spend on
enforcement. It will also take a 24/7 navy presence in the area and constant monitoring using the best radar that they have to make sure pangas can no
longer go out at night set their nets in darkness, leave them for 2 days and then retrieve them at night. That activity must be stopped immediately.
It won't be easy but it is doable, the world will be watching closely on this one and we will be posting many interviews over the next month.
Good luck Vaquitas!!
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Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by worldsaquarium
Thanks for the accurate info Aaron! Last Ocotober I spend 5 days in San Felipe working on a special report about La Vaquita. Here is the story I
posted, http://sancarlos.tv/in-search-of-la-vaquita-marina/,
The video is finished and is uploading at the moment and I will post the link when it is done. The Mexican government can still save La Vaquita Marina
and I would like to share a few things I have learned over the last 8 months researching Vaquita.
First off no animal every went extinct because of a lack of genetic diversity. Several vaquita researchers have told me that the population has always
had relatively low numbers so a small population should not be an issue.
As for the damning of the Colorado there is no doubt it destroyed the delta but all researchers I spoke with did not believe that was a real issue for
Vaquita.
The real issue is quite simple and Aaron has done a wonderful job of explaining it but there is one thing that should be mentioned. Vaquita
populations will be in jeporady for decades; so a 3 to 5 year complete ban on gill nets is not going to be the answer. Gill nets have to go away for
ever, period!
The current guys in charge of Profepa down in San Felipe need to be sacked and new people installed and a serious amount of money spend on
enforcement. It will also take a 24/7 navy presence in the area and constant monitoring using the best radar that they have to make sure pangas can no
longer go out at night set their nets in darkness, leave them for 2 days and then retrieve them at night. That activity must be stopped immediately.
It won't be easy but it is doable, the world will be watching closely on this one and we will be posting many interviews over the next month.
Good luck Vaquitas!! |
Thanks for the good info, they just need to stop gillnetting in the upper gulf entirely....how many fisherman are being affected? Not many I bet at
this point. Besides, if the gov't does nothing then they will be out of work soon anyway, if things keep going in the same direction.
Re--the small gene pool---I can think of a few czarist genetic pools that were suffering from too few outside progeny
The Condor program had so few individuals left to work with they had to be quite proactive to prevent inbreeding. Though don't know how you could
control that with dolphins anyway.
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worldsaquarium
Newbie
Posts: 14
Registered: 7-17-2014
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As far as the shrimp fishery goes there are around 350 permits out there for pangas to shrimp fish and only 48 of those boats have started the
reconversion process to the new trawl nets and out of the 48 only one guy that I know of, who is interviewed in the video, actually has the gear on
his boat. Chalunga is the guys name and he has an enormous beard and everyone jokes down there that he looks like Osama Bin Laden.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64754
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Thank you and welcome to Nomad, worldsaquarium!
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worldsaquarium
Newbie
Posts: 14
Registered: 7-17-2014
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thanks for the welcome, here is the link to our Vaquita video
http://worldsaquarium.com/blog/100-vaquita-marinas-are-all-t...
Sure hope the Feds will ban gill nets asap!!
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mulegemichael
Super Nomad
Posts: 2310
Registered: 12-24-2007
Location: sequim,wa. and mulege
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Mood: up on step
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redhill; right on!
dyslexia is never having to say you\'re yrros.
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worldsaquarium
Newbie
Posts: 14
Registered: 7-17-2014
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there is a petition on change.org that can be signed on behalf of La Vaquita, here is the link
https://www.change.org/p/prevent-the-extinction-of-the-vaqui...
Many are waiting impatiently to find out what the Mex Gov position will be but there are already the whispers of a boycott starting to be heard in the
back ground.
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