Decision 45 COM 7A.2

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

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7A.56 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Reiterates its utmost concern about the critical status of the vaquita, 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 species;
4. Takes note of the confirmation that the small and sole remaining population is still breeding, and that an extinction could still be avoided if the remaining animals can be fully protected and the illegal use of gill nets in the Zero Tolerance Area (ZTA) and the Lower Gulf area effectively enforced;
5. Welcomes the measures taken to monitor the vaquita population in the property, and encourages the State Party to continue these efforts;
6. Urges the State Party to implement the following corrective measures, developed by the State Party in close consultation with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN:
   1. Strengthen law enforcement efficiency through increased surveillance and inspection, continuing and further strengthening inter-institutional cooperation in this field,
   2. Introduce the necessary legislative changes to increase the penalties foreseen for illegal traffic, capture, possession, import and export of wildlife species, parts and products considered, threatened, endangered or specially protected and/or regulated under the national law, or by international treaties adopted by the State Party; and strengthen criminal prosecution procedures,
   3. Further strengthen detection and elimination of illegal and derelict fishing gear found in the Vaquita Refuge and the ZTA, in coordination with relevant stakeholders, fishing communities and cooperatives;
   4. Effectively implement the permanent ban on the use of gill nets (including the sale, manufacturing, or possession of all gill nets on land and at sea) in the Vaquita Refuge and the entire distribution range of the species;
   5. Pursue at the highest level of government, the necessary and urgent cooperation with the identified destination and transit countries involved in the illegal trade of totoaba swim bladders, through the implementation of the decisions made by Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and through other existing international mechanisms, such as INTERPOL;
   6. Ensure the large scale roll out of alternative fishing gear systems which do not cause entanglement of vaquita and other protected species already developed by the National Aquaculture and Fishing Commission (CONAPESCA) / National Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (INAPESCA) in the Upper Gulf of California by providing appropriate incentives and accompanying measures; and develop and promote sustainable fisheries based on environmentally friendly fishing gear throughout the entire property;
7. Also welcomes the cooperation between the State Party with the relevant international institutions and States Parties to combat illegal trafficking of totoaba products, including within the framework of CITES, and strongly recommends that the State Party of Mexico, together with the States Parties of transit and destination countries, take urgent action in line with all CITES decisions to effectively address the illegal totoaba bladder trade;
8. Notes the continued surveillance and law enforcement efforts aimed at eliminating illegal fishing activities and illegal trafficking of totoaba products but notes with concern that illegal fishing activities continue and reiterates its request to 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;
9. Further welcomes the ongoing retrieval of abandoned fishing gear, including through collaboration with civil society organizations, and urges the State Party to continue these efforts alongside surveillance and law enforcement to ensure that the ZTA is completely free of gill nets;
10. Noting that alternative vaquita-safe fishing gear is already available for a number of fisheries, requests the State Party to expedite the production and deployment of alternative gear and provide information on the uptake of alternative gear across all fishing communities of the Upper Gulf of California;
11. Notes with appreciation the State Party’s efforts to develop the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) through ongoing dialogue with the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, and encourages the State Party to finalise and submit the DSOCR following the necessary consultations with key stakeholders, for adoption by the World Heritage Committee at its 46th session;
12. Also notes with appreciation the efforts of the State Party to evaluate the management effectiveness of the property, and also requests the State Party to undertake targeted efforts address the management weaknesses, especially of the components currently evaluated as ineffective;
13. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2024, 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 46th session;
14. Decides to retain Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California (Mexico) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.