Decision 42 COM 7B.86

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

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.15, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
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;
4. Welcomes the important efforts by the State Party to implement the recommendations of the 2017 mission, in particular the significant progress made in strengthening surveillance efforts in the Upper Gulf of California, the enactment of the permanent gillnet ban, the increased net retrieval operations, progress made in coordinating the different law enforcement agencies and in streamlining the enforcement of regulations, as well as the efforts made to address the illegal international trade in totoaba through bilateral channels and the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and appreciates the unprecedented level of financial and operational resources made available by the State Party for these efforts;
5. Expresses its concern that insufficient progress has been made on the development and introduction of multiple and viable alternative fishing gears that do not endanger vaquita and other non-target marine mammals, sharks and turtles;
6. Regrets that the Vaquita Conservation, Protection and Recovery programme (CPR), set-up to establish a small captive population in order to avoid extinction of the species, had to be abandoned after one of the captured animals died, and takes note of the conclusion that removing vaquita to a temporary sanctuary is not a viable option and that the only way to safeguard the species from extinction is therefore the cessation of illegal fishing activities within its habitat;
7. Notes the conclusion of the 2018 mission that it is too early to determine if the efforts undertaken by the State Party have averted the risk of extinction of the vaquita and postpones its decision on the possible inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger to its 43rd session in 2019, when more data from the 2018-2019 season when illegal totoaba fishing occurs are available and once the CITES study on the current status of totoaba and vaquita, and information on illegal trade and markets in totoaba, is completed;
8. Requests the State Party to urgently address the following recommendations of the 2018 mission in order to prevent the extinction of the vaquita and thus prevent iconic attributes of the OUV of the property from becoming irreversibly lost:
   1. Maintain a high level of surveillance and monitoring activities, particularly during the season when illegal totoaba fishing occurs, in the Upper Gulf of California and increase resources, either by area or by type of personnel, to better pursue and subsequently prosecute the most determined fishermen who continue to evade the law,
   2. Expedite the development, testing and application of multiple alternative fishing gears, in close cooperation with local fishermen and based on the recommendations by the Expert Committee on Fishing Technologies (ECOFT) and review and transform the current economic compensation programme for fishermen into an initiative to incentivize them to develop and use alternative fishing gear,
   3. Ensure that the Decree that bans all commercial fishing using gillnet and/or longline fishing in the northern Gulf of California, decided between the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources and the Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food, is formalized via a legislative branch of government, by a Presidential Decree or by jurisprudence created by the federal court,
   4. Strengthen efforts to investigate the national and international networks involved in the illegal fishing operations and the illegal trafficking of totoaba swim bladders, making full use of the new provisions for wildlife trafficking under Mexican Federal Law;
9. Considers that the results of the study requested by the CITES Standing Committee on the current status of totoaba and vaquita, and on the illegal trade and markets will be key in mapping trafficking routes and in identifying appropriate strategies to combat illegal trade in totoaba products, which will require a concerted effort between the States Parties of Mexico, China and the United States of America;
10. Also requests the State Party to address the following recommendations of the 2018 mission in order to guarantee the long-term protection of the OUV of the property, further improve the conservation of the property and strengthen its management:
    1. Continue to develop a programme of transition from unregulated fisheries into regulated practices, that adhere to clear guidelines for sustainable catch, throughout the property, with defined timelines and regular assessment of programme targets,
    2. Continue to support the highly successful community programmes that aim to strengthen the involvement of local communities into the protection of the property and their transition into sustainable livelihoods, as well as climate change adaptation programmes,
    3. Develop an integrated management framework for the property in its entirety including a formal coordination structure;
11. Further requests the State Party to implement the other recommendations of the 2018 mission on providing clarifications regarding the new General Law on Biodiversity, the report on the status of the totoaba in the Gulf of California and the publication of the results of the enforcement activities;
12. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2019, 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 43rd session in 2019, with a view to considering, in the case of the absence of significant progress in the implementation of the above, the inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.