The Catch Foreign Policy

In the Part One of our new season of The Catch, host Ruxandra Guidi along with co-reporter Ernesto Méndez and marine biologist Alex Olivera travel to the Upper Gulf of California to meet with local experts and shrimp fishers. The underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau once deemed this area "The Aquarium of the World" because it was so rich in biodiversity. But unfortunately much of this ecological wonder is under threat due to illegal gillnet fishing. At the center of everything is a small porpoise called the vaquita whose numbers have dwindled to less than a dozen.
In this episode Guidi speaks to local fishers and hears from environmentalist Rick Brusca as well as former NOAA fisheries official Barbara Taylor. They discuss how the highly desirable blue shrimp endemic to the Gulf of California has been tied up in conservation efforts to protect the vaquita.
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On today's episode, we look into what led to the dire situation faced by the vaquita and the fishing communities in the Upper Gulf of California. Host Ruxandra Guidi and her travel companions learn more about the history of fishing in the area and how demand for high value seafood such as the totoaba and blue shrimp led to a dire situation for the vaquita porpoise.
In this episode, Guidi speaks to Carlos Tirado, a champion of sustainable fishing in the Upper Gulf. He's also the leader of the Regional Federation of small-scale fishers, an independent association.
Later, she heads out on the water with Captain Naya to explore an area where scientists had hoped to study and protect vaquita in captivity.
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On today’s episode of The Catch, host Ruxandra Guidi continues her exploration of the Upper Gulf of California to learn more about what can be done to stop illegal gillnet fishing. We hear from Zak Smith, a senior attorney and the director of global biodiversity conservation at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). He led an effort to force a U.S. embargo on seafood from the area.
Guidi then reports on the efforts made by the NRDC and others to compel Mexico to follow its own laws to protect the vaquita. She and her travel companions venture out on a boat to see firsthand whether or not tighter restrictions have impacted local fishers and the market for the highly desirable blue shrimp.
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In today's episode host Ruxandra Guidi looks at the conditions in the Upper Gulf of California that have allowed Mexican cartels to embed themselves into nearly all aspects of the fishing industry. She investigates the weak response from the Mexican government in rooting out the cartels, and tries to learn what, if anything, can be done about all this. 
This episode features conversations with Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and Carlos Tirado, a local fishers leader who runs a large artisanal shrimp fishing operation and is an advocate for sustainable fishing.
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In this episode, host Ruxandra Guidi follows the market for Mexican blue shrimp up the supply chain to see what pressure importers and consumers can have on ensuring the shrimp is not caught illegally. She'll hear from sustainable importers and packages and talk about how they are trying to implement different practices as well as the limitations they face. She'll also hear how pressure from international markets such as the US could force the Mexican government to implement meaningful change to how the Gulf of California is fished.
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Host Ruxandra Guidi concludes this season with a look at the state of fishing in the Upper Gulf of California. She meets fishers who are members of Pesca ABC who are trying to implement sustainable fishing practices. She also shares some good news about the vaquita porpoise and the efforts to protect its habitat.
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