Summary
A decision of the CITES Conference of the Parties, adopted in Samarkand on 5 December 2025. It sets out what Mexico must do to stop illegal totoaba fishing and trade in the northern Gulf of California, where the gillnets set for totoaba drown vaquitas.
Why it matters
It is the international commitment behind Mexico’s patrols and gillnet rules in the Upper Gulf. Mexico has to meet every milestone of its Compliance Action Plan by the 81st meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, and report on its progress before then.
Key findings
- Meet all the milestones of Mexico’s Compliance Action Plan no later than the 81st meeting of the Standing Committee.
- Put the northern Gulf fishing rules into effect urgently, including landing sites and vessel monitoring, or any revised version of them.
- Keep gillnets out of the Vaquita Refuge and boats out of the Zero Tolerance Area, with full-time surveillance, seizure of boats and gear, and money to remove and destroy nets.
- Expand support for fishing gear that doesn’t catch vaquitas, and check that boats with permits for that gear use only that gear.
- Act against illegal totoaba fishing that has moved to other areas.
- Use intelligence work to map the criminal groups behind illegal fishing and totoaba trafficking.
- Consider redrawing the Zero Tolerance Area and the Vaquita Refuge to match current data on where vaquitas are found.
- Report to the CITES Secretariat 90 days before the 81st meeting of the Standing Committee.
Caveats
A CITES decision carries no penalties of its own. These points summarize the decision’s text as published on ECOLEX.