In the Upper Gulf of California, home to the world's only population of the vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus), a new agreement has come into force: the zone where gillnets are banned has been reduced from 11 106 to 1 562 square kilometers. This decision by the Mexican government, published in the official gazette on 15 October 2026, has alarmed environmentalists, for according to the latest estimates only seven to ten individuals of this species remain on the planet.
The vaquita is the smallest porpoise on Earth, endemic to the gulf, whose numbers have steadily declined because of bycatch in fishing nets. Previously the ban covered an area comparable in size to Connecticut; now it covers only a zone the size of Greater London. The authorities explain the move by the need to support coastal fishing communities and to focus efforts on the areas where the animals have actually been found in recent years.
Members of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, including the Mexican biologist Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, note that patrolling the vast expanse of water was extremely difficult, and that the new rules make it possible to direct resources more precisely to a "zero-tolerance zone" with an area of 225 square kilometers. At the same time, it now includes a transit channel about 350 meters wide for small vessels.
Critics, among them conservation organizations, point out that weakening the ban opens thousands of square kilometers of the species' historical range to nets, which remain the main threat to the species. According to monitoring data, individual vaquita sightings in 2026 were also recorded outside the former zone, yet the overall picture of the population remains extremely fragile.
The decision illustrates the long-standing conflict between short-term economic interests and the long-term preservation of a unique element of the Gulf of California's marine ecosystem. Even with improved control in a smaller zone, the risk of accidental bycatch persists, and the genetic diversity of the tiny population is already minimal.
Focusing efforts on the places where the species actually lives offers a chance to strengthen protection where it is truly needed.
