"La Vaquita" : un marsouin en voie d'extinction
Transcript
00:00 [Music]
00:06 We are currently at the protection zone of the Vaquita,
00:09 a small marine mammal in critical danger of extinction,
00:13 present only in this region of the world,
00:15 the Gulf of California, Mexico.
00:17 This area is about 200 square kilometers
00:19 and it is formally forbidden to fish there.
00:22 For a very long time, this ban was very little respected
00:25 and Sea Shepherd had to withdraw up to twenty nets every day,
00:29 sometimes by force,
00:30 so there could be violent confrontations with the fishermen.
00:34 But now it's much better, thanks to a new agreement with the Mexican Navy,
00:37 which intervenes very quickly as soon as the crew members
00:41 warn them of the presence of a fisherman.
00:43 And now it's been about a week since they have seen a fisherman in this area.
00:47 [Music]
00:51 Before, we've had images like this on the radar,
00:54 where we've had nearly hundreds of fishing boats operating in this rectangle,
01:01 which is the zero tolerance area.
01:03 Today, I'm seeing this, which is a huge improvement,
01:09 there's virtually nobody here.
01:11 So working with the Mexican government
01:13 and keeping a regular patrol here,
01:16 seems to be keeping the fishing out of this area.
01:20 Last week, they welcomed a scientific mission to study the Vaquita.
01:25 They saw several of them in good health, happy, with babies especially.
01:30 So they are filled with hope for the future
01:32 and that's really something new,
01:34 because a few years ago, we were giving away the Vaquita's skin.
01:38 [Music]
01:41 This is a common dolphin, an adult.
01:47 Here, they often cut this part of the tail,
01:53 to get them out of the net and release them.
01:58 Sometimes they get caught and they get lost in the mountains.
02:01 In a very special place for us,
02:03 which is the pantheon,
02:06 or the place where we bury these mammals
02:10 that we often find stranded on the beach or stuck in a fishing net.
02:15 This year, we didn't find them.
02:17 This is the first year, after seven years that I've been living in San Felipe,
02:20 that we haven't found a whale.
02:22 The fishermen have been understanding the situation,
02:26 and that has helped us.
02:29 The only long-term solution to save the Vaquita Marina
02:33 and get them out of the water
02:34 is to generate alternative fishing arts
02:38 that are profitable for the fishermen in the region.
02:41 The creation of markets,
02:43 the development of productive alternatives for the fishermen,
02:46 but we also work with the women, with the young people in the community.
02:51 We hope that at some point in the future,
02:53 it will be them who will monitor the Vaquita Marina.
02:56 [Music]