Decision 44 COM 7A.56

Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California (Mexico) (N 1182ter)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 7B.26, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
3. Reiterates its utmost concern about the critical status of the vaquita population, specifically recognized as part of the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and endemic to the Gulf of California, and that illegal fishing of totoaba has continued in the Upper Gulf of California resulting in a threat of imminent extinction of the vaquita population;
4. Notes that no updated information has been provided regarding the remaining vaquita population and therefore requests the State Party to cooperate with the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA) to update the current estimate and transmit this information to the World Heritage Centre;
5. Welcomes the efforts by the State Party to use the mechanism of the List of World Heritage in Danger to strengthen international cooperation to fight illegal international trafficking of totoaba products and to continue a dialogue with the States Parties that are transit and destination countries for illegal totoaba products, including within the framework of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES);
6. Also welcomes the ongoing inter-institutional efforts aimed at fighting illegal fishing activities in the Upper Gulf of California and illegal trafficking of totoaba products, but notes with concern that the volume of illegally extracted totoaba products remains high, and also requests the State Party to further strengthen these efforts based on a critical assessment of the efficiency of the current efforts on how to improve them;
7. Also notes the reported information on new fisheries regulations that have been approved in September 2020, which, if enforced, could have the potential to reduce totoaba poaching and vaquita bycatch, as well as the concerns that the State Party has not fully implemented the regulations and has failed to enforce them; and further requests the State Party to provide further information in this regard;
8. Further welcomes that ongoing ‘ghost net’ retrieval efforts, including through collaboration with civil society organizations, have been formalized, but expresses concern that a large number of ghost nets continues to be found, that the ghost nets retrieval activities have been concentrated in the so called “zero tolerance zone”, but that no further information has been provided on how effective the zone has been and that net retrieval operations remain suspended since December 2020, while the totoaba illegal fishing season is underway;
9. Taking note of the confirmation provided by the State Party that alternative vaquita-safe fishing gear is already available for a number of fisheries and has been provided to interested fishers, requests furthermore the State Party to continue these efforts and to confirm the scale of deployment of alternative fishing gear across the fishing communities of the Upper Gulf of California;
10. Notes with satisfaction the dialogue between the State Party, the World Heritage Centre and IUCN regarding the development of a set of corrective measures and requests moreover the State Party to submit the final proposal with its next report on the state of conservation of the property, taking into account the comments provided by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN;
11. Welcomes furthermore the establishment of a technical working group for the development of a Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) and urges the State Party to expedite the process, in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, including by organising a technical workshop with participation of the World Heritage Centre, IUCN, including its Species Survival Commission, and CIRVA;
12. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2022, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session;
13. Decides to retain Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California (Mexico) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.