Help Save the Vaquita By Boycotting Mexican Shrimp Cathy Liss - Animal Welfare Institute
go to original June 25, 2017

Fewer than 30 vaquita porpoise are left in Mexico's northern Gulf of California, and experts have said that if the government of Mexico does not enact a permanent ban on the use of all gillnets, the vaquita will be extinct in less than three years. For decades, this tiny cetacean has been killed by entanglement in gillnet fishing gear used to catch shrimp for the US market. More recently, gillnets have also been used illegally to catch totoaba, an endangered fish whose swim bladder is in high demand in Asia.

In 2015, Mexico established a two-year ban on gillnet use within the vaquita's range, but enforcement efforts have failed to stem the precipitous decline in the vaquita population. Illegal fishing vessels, including shrimp boats, continue to ply the waters of the Vaquita Refuge, a no fishing zone. A loophole in the ban has also permitted some fishers to continue to use gillnets legally, a situation that has served as a cover for additional illegal fishing.

The government of Mexico has failed to make a commitment to a complete and permanent ban on all gillnet fisheries in the Upper Gulf of California. Time is running out for the vaquita, and decisive action is needed. Please join the Boycott Mexican Shrimp campaign, and help send the strongest possible message to the Mexican government that it must act now.

What You Can Do:

Make your voice heard through your purchasing decisions: Pledge not to buy Mexican shrimp until Mexico ensures that all deadly gillnets are removed from the vaquita's habitat. For more information on how you can take action, please visit the BoycottMexicanShrimp.com website. On the site, you can take the pledge and send letters to Mexican officials and companies known to buy shrimp from Mexico.

Boycott Mexican Shrimp: Take the Pledge at Change.org

Read the rest at Animal Welfare Institute

Related: Sea Shepherd Society Offers Tours of Vessel in Vaquita Porpoise Campaign (San Diego Union Tribune)

Illustration: Frédérique Lucas/BoycottMexicanShrimp.com

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!