Summary
This joint agreement of the agriculture, environment and navy ministries replaces the 2020 rules for fishing in the northern Gulf of California. It keeps the permanent gillnet ban but redraws the area it covers, from about 11,100 km² to about 1,562 km². It keeps the 225 km² Zero Tolerance Area, adds a transit channel through it and a Special Use Area beside it, and came into force on 15 October 2026.
Why it matters
These are the rules that govern fishing in the vaquita's habitat from 15 October 2026. They cut the area where gillnets are banned by about 86 percent and, for the first time, let fishing boats pass through the Zero Tolerance Area.
Key findings
- Art. 2 permanently bans all gillnets in a seven-sided area (Cuadro 1). The decree states no size; calculated from its vertices it is about 1,562 km², against about 11,100 km² in 2020.
- Art. 18 keeps the 225 km² Zero Tolerance Area closed to fishing and navigation, but opens a transit channel through it for small boats whose satellite monitoring is working.
- Art. 18 also creates a Special Use Area beside the Zero Tolerance Area, where the only fishing allowed is free diving or hookah diving.
- Art. 4 bans fishing in the prohibition area from 19:00 to 05:00, three hours less than the 16:00 to 05:00 closure of 2020.
- Art. 6 requires tamper-proof monitoring on small boats, with up to 12 months from budget approval to install it. Transitorios Cuarto and Quinto repeal the 2020 and 2021 agreements.
Caveats
The decree does not mention the Vaquita Refuge, which rests on a separate 2018 instrument. The monitoring requirement has no fixed start date, because its 12 months run from a budget approval. Art. 18 allows the Zero Tolerance Area's coordinates to be updated by a later DOF notice; this entry describes the agreement as published on 14 October 2026.