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5h ago

Mexico Shrinks No‑Gillnet Zone for Vaquita While Keeping Strict Core Protections

Officials say the change concentrates safeguards where vaquitas are detected and adds tighter monitoring to try to protect the species while easing fishing limits outside the core.

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La presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum explicó en conferencia matutina las razones de la reducción del polígono de restricción pesquera en el Alto Golfo de California, donde habita la vaquita marina. | Archivo GH
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Overview

  • On Thursday, October 15, 2026, the federal government published a Diario Oficial de la Federación agreement that redraws where gillnets are banned in the Alto Golfo de California and put the rule into force.
  • The wider no-gillnet polygon was cut from roughly 11,100 square kilometers to about 1,562 km2, a reported 86% reduction, while the Zona de Tolerancia Cero was reduced slightly from 225 km2 to 208 km2.
  • The ZTC remains strictly protected with a permanent ban on gillnets and agalleras, a dedicated transit channel for vessels, a night fishing ban from 19:00 to 05:00, and allowance only for gear approved by technical review.
  • To strengthen oversight the rule keeps mandatory marking of fishing gear, requires satellite tracking of vessels, updates official landing sites and night limits, and reinstates the technical experts committee (ECOFT) to develop alternative gears.
  • The government scheduled a 2027 acoustic and visual monitoring campaign that will involve communities and NGOs and will be used to judge whether the smaller protected area plus the new controls are working to prevent vaquita bycatch and protect local livelihoods.