UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee renewed its call for urgent action to protect the critically endangered vaquita in Mexico. With an estimated population of six to eight individuals, the vaquita faces imminent extinction due to entrapment in nets.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1                                                                                                                                              PROGRAM #10456 12:00 PM PT

Vaquita, Totoaba: World Heritage in Danger. 

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee renewed its call for urgent action to protect the critically endangered vaquita in Mexico. With an estimated population of six to eight individuals, the vaquita faces imminent extinction due to entrapment in nets used for illegal shrimp and totoaba fishing. The Gulf of California, the vaquita’s only home, is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Ocean conservation groups talk about this and about the efforts to support and involve local fishermen and train local youth to develop sustainable fishing and help the Mexican cetacean survive. On a related note, a grassroots Latina organization surveyed Latinos and found that Latinos across the US strongly support restoring the ocean to protect marine life against illegal fishing.

Guests: Enrique Sanjurjo, Director, Pesca ABC, La Paz, Baja California Sur, MX; Víctor Rodríguez, Communications Coordinator, ProNatura Noroeste, Ensenada, MX; Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Founder and Executive Director, Azul, San Francisco, CA.

Photo: noaa.gov

For more information about Linea Abierta and to find previous shows visit our  Linea Abierta page.