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In reply to the discussion: Watch: Sea Shepherd films attack on ship by fishermen caught using banned nets [View all]gaiadiversity
(60 posts)many of the poachers are local fishermen desperate for $. They can make thousands of dollars in a single night. The money comes from drug cartels that sell the totoaba swim bladders to China. Many of the local fishermen are willing to take the risk since the economy in San Felipe has crashed. The fisheries are overfished and tourism has declined dramatically. The Mexican government should have taken action to save the vaquita (an endemic harbor porpoise, not a dolphin) a decade or more ago. Population estimates now are around 12 individuals left. A "bullet-ridden illegal fisherman" in this case would turn both the community and drug cartels even more against Sea Shepherd and the Mexican authorities and the delta region would then turn into more of a free-for-all than it already is.
Just a side note: Only one of the animals in the above photos is a vaquita, the dead one being held in the guys arms.