U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai formally requested environmental consultations with Mexico today over its illegal fishing. Aimed at protecting the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, the request is the first step under the enforcement and dispute mechanism of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which could lead to trade sanctions against Mexico.
Despite its trade agreement obligations, Mexico is not effectively enforcing its environmental laws, and rampant illegal fishing in the Gulf of California has caused the vaquita’s near-extinction. Today’s request is the first time the U.S. government has invoked the USMCA’s environmental consultation provision since the trade agreement took effect in 2020.
“This is a big move that could save these little porpoises from extinction,” said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Illegal fishing is out of control in Mexican waters, and the vaquita is paying the highest possible price. We’re glad the U.S. government is taking Mexico to task for violating its environmental obligations and threatening the vaquita’s existence.”
Only 10 vaquita likely remain on Earth. Vaquita become entangled and die in fishing gear set to catch shrimp, totoaba (a large fish in demand in China for its swim bladder), and other finfish. Yet the Mexican government has repeatedly failed to enforce its own ban on fishing in the vaquita’s Upper Gulf of California habitat. In November,117 boats were observed in a single day fishing illegally within the “zero tolerance area,” an area so critical for the vaquita that all unauthorized vessels and fishing are banned.
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https://www.nrdc.org/media/2022/220210-3