Mexico’s environmental authority announced a change this week to the protected area for the vaquita, a small porpoise found in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California that conservation groups say is already at extreme risk of extinction. The government described the move as an “ajuste” meant to reconcile species protection with fishing activity in the Upper Gulf region, also known as the Sea of Cortez.
The announcement came Friday, according to the Mexican government, in the context of a meeting among federal government entities, the states of Baja California and Sonora, local authorities and fishing organizations. In a statement, the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente said the “adjustment” reflects a conservation-fishing balance, while environmentalists argued the change weakens the effort to stop harm to the vaquita.
For decades, authorities have protected the vaquita’s habitat in what the report describes as a strict “tolerance zero” zone. Under that approach, all fishing is prohibited in the zero-tolerance area, while fishing in a broader area is allowed but the use of gillnets—nets in which vaquitas can become entangled—is prohibited.
Despite those restrictions, the report said illegal use of gillnets has continued, particularly in connection with fishing for totoaba. The totoaba is described as a fish of similar size to the vaquita, with a swim-bladder that is highly valued in China, and the report said its commercial trade is controlled by organized crime in the area.
According to the report, the outcome has been a continued decline in the number of vaquitas observed—citing that in 1997 there were about 600, compared with 2024’s count being far lower—although it added that the decline appeared to have been slowed in 2025. The report also said that an expedition conducted in September of the previous year found only between 7 and 10 vaquitas.
The new deal, the report said, reduces the extent of the gillnet prohibition zone while introducing additional enforcement steps meant to keep the bans from being violated. Enrique Sanjurjo, from Pesca ABC, said the accord could be beneficial if enforcement is carried out “de verdad” and not in a way he described as having previously allowed “illegalities tolerated,” which he said is the most damaging factor for the region.
Other advocates pushed back. The report said the Arizona-based Centro para la Diversidad Biológica called the move a reversal in vaquita conservation policy, arguing that rather than strengthening application of the law, the government was effectively giving most of the vaquitas’ habitat to the same fishing gear they said kills the animals. In a statement quoted in the report, its representative in Mexico, Alex Olivera, said vaquita do not remain within the boundaries of the map and that scientists have documented their presence outside the strict zero-tolerance area, adding that reducing protection creates risk that he said the species cannot afford.
Olivera also warned that other measures included in the agreement—such as opening “passage” channels within the zero-tolerance zone and allowing night fishing that has been prohibited—could complicate enforcement against illegal gillnet fishing. Mexico, the report said, responded that the new accord would advance conservation efforts while addressing what it described as a debt of social justice with communities of the Upper Gulf of California.