On June 7 an agreement was made between the President of Mexico, Mexican agencies responsible for vaquita conservation, the DiCaprio Foundation, the Slim Foundation and several NGOs to work together to save vaquitas (click here for the complete news story).

The agreement converts the temporary gillnet ban to a permanent ban, but details remain to be worked out. For example, as yet there is no prohibition against possessing or manufacturing gillnets. Society of Marine Mammalogy Board members Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho and Barbara Taylor participated in the meeting at the President’s residence in Mexico City and believe the agreement with these powerful foundations could be a big benefit at a desperate time for the species. Plans to bring as many vaquitas as possible into captive care as quickly as possible, as recommended by the recovery team in CIRVA 9, have been fully funded, and the team facilitating this, VaquitaCPR, plans to attempt vaquita capture in October.