Page 7 - Upper Gulf News Today

The species saw a 98% decline in population in 2 decades

Montreal —A key United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) body recommended a formal investigation today into Mexico’s failure to comply with its fishing and wildlife trade laws, which is causing the near-extinction of the vaquita porpoise.

The world's rivers and their modern challenges are captured in dramatic photographs drawn from River, a new nature documentary that highlights the scale and intricacy of Earth's life-giving arteries

An international meeting has given the green light for commercial farming and trade in captive-bred totoaba fish – and in doing so may have condemned the last few remaining vaquita porpoises to extinction

Lyon, France—The Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) voted 9-5 Thursday to permit Earth Ocean Farms (EOF), an aquaculture facility in Mexico, to engage in trade of captive-bred totoaba fish.

Center for Biological Diversity: LYON, France— The Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora voted 9-6 Thursday to permit Earth Ocean Farms, an aquaculture facility in Mexico, to engage in trade of captive-bred totoaba fish. This decision may seal the fate of the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, which becomes entangled in fishing nets used to catch totoaba for the totoaba bladder (or maw) trade.

International officials will soon decide the fate of Mexican totoaba fish farming—and with it, possibly the last glimmer of hope for the vaquita.

The Biden Administration has asked for the Mexican government to provide environmental consultations over its protections of the endangered vaquita.

Local lawmakers are hoping to get a big chunk of funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to reduce pollution at the Port of San Diego and surrounding communities. Meanwhile, the U.S. Marine Corps. opened an inquiry last week into whether Victor Krvaric, a Marine reservist and son of former San Diego County GOP Chairman Tony Krvaric, had applied to be a member of a white supremacist group. Plus, is the Monarch butterfly really making a comeback in California?

The vaquita is threatened largely by illegal gillnets used to catch shrimp and totoaba - Click the link for more details.