Dear John,
We are proud to share with you our Update From the Frontlines. In these pages, you will find a comprehensive report on our campaigns to protect endangered wildlife in some of the most fragile ecosystems in the world. Your copy can be found HERE.
As you will see in the report, all of our campaigns and partnerships are making the difference, with your support, between life and death for threatened species. For example, the Vaquita Refuge is a UNESCO-recognized and federally protected region in the Upper Gulf of California where gillnet fishing is banned. Poachers violate this ban and their nets kill the vaquita; the most endangered mammal on earth. As recently as last week, the Government of Mexico has announced a new project to ensure that the vaquita’s habitat remains free of the illegal fishing gear responsible for the species’ decline (see more details below!) Sea Shepherd is in the ninth year of partnering with the Mexican Navy to protect the vaquita, and your support has allowed us to scale our operations so we now define success by preventing boats and nets from ever even entering the protected area.
Our vessel Farley Mowat is currently in the Vaquita Refuge, monitoring to deter illegal fishing and detect any fishing gear. Before the end of the year, we plan to add one of our new ships to this operation, building on our success and enhancing our capacity to stay in the Refuge as long as the vaquita requires our protection to survive.
Multiple times a year, Operation Revillagigedo brings Sea Shepherd vessels and crews to the largest marine protected area in North America to advance the science around whales and increase our ability to protect them. In partnership with CONANP, Mexico’s Commission of Natural Protected Areas, Sea Shepherd studies humpback whales around the Revillagigedo Archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage site located 240 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas. You will read about Operation Guadalupe, which focuses on Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve, working with leading cetacean researchers to study one of the most elusive species of marine mammals - the Cuvier’s beaked whale. Sea Shepherd is contributing to the body of scientific work needed to shape policy and enhance protections for these gentle giants.
We also share an update on Brazil where the Boto Expedition, our partnership with Sea Shepherd Brazil and the National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA), maps the populational health of Amazon river dolphins across 1100 km in four areas of the Amazon basin. The data from the expedition guides the protection efforts of the Amazon and Tucuxi Dolphin, two iconic species at risk of extinction due to their use as bait for the illegal practice of piracatinga fishing.
This work is only possible because of our supporters and volunteers, and with your continued support we are optimistic about even more impact on behalf of endangered species in 2023.
