A tri-national plan to save the world's most endangered marine mammal was announced by the Montreal-based Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) this week. At the request of the governments of Mexico, Canada and the United States, the CEC drafted the North American Conservation Action Plan aimed at rescuing the threatened vaquita (Phocoena sinus) from extinction.

According to the CEC, which was established as an environmental
information clearinghouse and environmental policy advisory body
under the North American Free Trade Agreement, only 150 vaquitas
remain in the Upper Gulf of California, the world's only known
habitat of the small porpoise.

If urgent action is not taken soon, the CEC warned in a press
statement, the vaquita population could drop to 50 adults within the
next two years.

Although previous plans to save the vaquita have been hatched in
Mexico, conflicts with fishermen from the communities of San Felipe,
Golfo de Santa Clara and Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, have complicated
species preservation efforts.

According to the CEC, working with indigenous communities to
create "vaquita-safe fishing methods" and sustainable economies is an essential part of the new plan.

Perhaps an unforeseen factor in the vaquita's survival and recovery
was reported by Arizona media last week. With public and private
investor funds, the Mexican government plans to begin construction of a large cruise ship terminal in Puerto Penasco next year. When
finished, the new home port could handle upwards of 200 big boats
every year.

The entire conservation plan, in Spanish, English and French, is
available on the CEC's website at www.cec.org.