CITES vaquita marina Mexico conservation targets, Digi Mart USA News (Geneva, Switzerland): According to a report from Segundo a Segundo, the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) decided on November 5, 2026, not to consider nine pending targets of the action plan to protect the vaquita marina and combat illegal totoaba fishing in Mexico as fulfilled.
The Mexican delegation attended the committee’s 81st meeting in Geneva but did not convince the 19 member countries and regional representatives to close the compliance procedure, which was opened more than three years ago due to concerns about vaquita protection and the illegal trafficking of totoaba fish.
Marina Robles, undersecretary for Biodiversity and Environmental Restoration at the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), asked CITES to accept the nine pending milestones out of the 101 established in the Compliance Action Plan, which the Mexican government committed to in April 13, 2023.
Robles cited as achievements the implementation of a new version of the Regulatory Agreement for the Upper Gulf of California, published October 14, which reduces the prohibition zone for gillnet use in the vaquita marina’s habitat by 86%. She also referred to the implementation of fishing gear marking and satellite monitoring of vessels, which have not yet begun operating.
The undersecretary warned of a setback in the transition to alternative fishing methods, noting that gillnet use has again been permitted in the region, which poses a significant risk to the vaquita marina, the most endangered marine mammal in the world. According to the report, the situation remains critical, and the lack of compliance with CITES targets endangers not only the vaquita marina but also the biodiversity of the marine ecosystem in which it lives.
