Mexico Proposes Rollback Of Vaquita Protections, Pushing The Species Closer To Extinction
The fate of the vaquita hangs in the balance as Mexico considers regulatory changes that could determine whether this critically endangered species survives. Conservationists around the world are sounding the alarm, warning that the decisions made now may mark a turning point in the fight to save the world’s rarest marine mammal.
According to the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Mexico is on the brink of publishing new rules that will significantly weaken protections for the vaquita porpoise, the world’s most endangered cetacean, potentially leading to the extinction of the species. The Intergovernmental Group on Sustainability in the Upper Gulf of California, a multi-agency organization created to oversee implementation of measures to protect the vaquita, held a pivotal meeting recently, proposing new regulations that could eviscerate established protections.
During the meeting, the Mexican government announced new proposed regulatory measures on gillnets, the principal threat to the vaquita. According to a 2025 survey, only seven to ten vaquitas may remain in the wild. These porpoises are highly vulnerable and easily become entangled and drown in gillnets, which are used illegally to catch totoaba (a large fish), shrimp, and other marine species in the Upper Gulf of California.
The new measures would amend Mexican regulations published in September 2020 which, if fully implemented and enforced, were generally considered the best chance for saving the vaquita from extinction. However, the country has never comprehensively enforced those 2020 regulations and is now considering changes that include reducing the size of the area where gillnets are prohibited by 85%, allowing the use of gillnets in known vaquita habitat, and permitting fishing at night.
“The new measures proposed today represent Mexico’s white flag of surrender to the cartels and fishers who have, for decades, overseen or participated in illegal fishing of totoaba and other species, nearly causing the extinction of the vaquita,” said DJ Schubert, senior wildlife biologist with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). “Mexico’s failure to enforce existing regulations—and now, its attempt to roll them back—is sentencing this beloved porpoise to extinction.”
AWI has long fought, alongside other animal welfare and conservation organizations, for Mexico to crack down on illegal gillnet use and take the protection of the vaquita seriously. In the face of today’s challenging developments, the organization urges the Mexican government to reconsider this potentially disastrous proposal.
If these proposed changes move forward, the consequences could be irreversible. With only a handful of vaquitas remaining in the wild, the world is watching to see whether Mexico will strengthen its commitment to enforcement and protection, or allow the species to vanish forever.
