CITES Standing Committee vaquita marina Mexico compliance, Digi Mart USA News (Geneva, Switzerland): The Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) decided not to consider nine pending targets of the Action Plan for protecting the vaquita marina and combating illegal totoaba fishing in Mexico as fulfilled. Mexico’s delegation, which traveled to Geneva for the Standing Committee’s 81st meeting, did not succeed in having the 19 member countries and regional representatives close the compliance procedure opened more than three years ago.
Marina Robles, undersecretary for Biodiversity and Environmental Restoration at Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), asked CITES to accept the nine outstanding milestones out of 101 in the Compliance Action Plan that the Mexican government committed to in April 13, 2023. She presented as achievements the new Regulatory Agreement for the Upper Gulf of California, published October 14, which reduces by 86% the prohibition zone for gillnets in the vaquita marina habitat.
Robles also cited the implementation of fishing gear marking and satellite monitoring of vessels, which have not yet entered operation, and the transition to alternative fishing methods, which environmental groups say has regressed by again allowing gillnets in the region. She further pointed to market development with added value, coordination with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) that has led to prison sentences and fines exceeding 130 million Mexican pesos, including a four-year prison term and 19 million pesos sanction handed down two weeks earlier.
Robles stated that Mexico had “more than complied,” and asked the committee to note the updated information and revise the recommendations to reflect measures currently implemented. CITES acknowledged Mexico’s progress and softened its recommendations by removing from the draft an explicit instruction to decide additional compliance measures at its next meeting.
However, committee members did not endorse the nine pending milestones. They instructed Mexican authorities to submit a new results update 90 days before the 2027 meeting.
The United States noted that Mexico arrived without meeting all targets set since 2023, even though the CITES deadline expired at this 81st meeting, and asked for immediate and full application of the Compliance Action Plan and the recent Regulatory Agreement, including effective enforcement of the gillnet ban in the newly designated zone covering the entire Vaquita Refuge and the so-called Zero Tolerance Zone.
The United Kingdom supported keeping Mexico’s nine pending targets under review rather than considering them overcome. It rejected Mexico’s proposal to submit a “final report,” and said Mexico should continue reporting progress, how it is applying the new Regulatory Agreement, and what positive effects or difficulties persist.
Environmental organizations asked CITES to suspend Mexico’s trade or, at minimum, keep the Article XIII compliance process open to protect the vaquita marina. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) argued that Mexico has not fully implemented the Compliance Action Plan, with nine milestones unfulfilled.
“Some of these pending milestones are not ‘long-term’ but concrete law enforcement measures, organized crime intelligence and development of alternative fishing gear,” they stated.
The groups noted that the new Regulatory Agreement reduces the area where gillnets are prohibited, “which further complicates monitoring and weakens protection of the vaquita marina.” Alejandro Olivera, Mexico representative of the CBD, said Mexico had received several extensions to complete the Action Plan and should deliver full results at the 81st meeting rather than another report of purported progress.
Olivera also questioned commitments treated as fulfilled, especially monitoring of smaller vessels, noting the first devices installed did not work and their replacement is still in progress.
