Trade-Offs Between Fisheries and Conservation of the Critically Endangered Vaquita Porpoise

Minimizing fishery bycatch threats might involve trade-offs between maintaining viable populations and economic benefits. We analyze trade-offs between conservation of the Critically Endangered vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus) and fisheries, using an Atlantis end-to-end ecosystem model for the Northern Gulf of California. We simulated increasingly restrictive fisheries regulations contained in the vaquita conservation plan: reducing shrimp driftnets in favor of a fishing gear with no vaquita bycatch (switchout); implementing progressively larger spatial management areas that exclude gillnets and trawls; and applying a combination of these management actions. Eliminating gillnets and trawls from the entire vaquita distribution area while switching shrimp driftnets to a light trawl led to a 17% decrease in the net present value of fisheries catch relative to the currently enforced Vaquita refuge but a 400% increase in the abundance of adult vaquita over the course of 30 years. Our analysis shows potential trade-offs between management scenarios that can assist policymakers and the public in making informed decisions.