Ship: Seahorse
Name: Laura Sánchez
Date: 06/05/2023
Ship’s Activity: Monitoring
Table 1. Small boat counting was done during the 6th of May from 06:00 to 19:00 with radar observations. The hours not represented in this table correspond to hours when no pangas were seen in the ZTA or outside.
| Hour | Small boats Inside ZTA | ||||
|
Total |
Net Fishing | Divers | Potential Net Fishing | Crossing | |
| 07:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 08:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 09:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19:00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Hour | Small boats in the Buffer Zone | |||
|
Total |
Net Fishing | Divers | Potential Net Fishing | |
| 07:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 08:00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 09:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12:00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13:00 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 14:00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15:00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16:00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17:00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18:00 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 19:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Hour | Small boats in the VR | |||
|
Total |
Net Fishing | Divers | Potential Net Fishing | |
| 06:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 07:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 08:00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 09:00 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 10:00 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 11:00 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 12:00 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 13:00 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 14:00 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 15:00 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 16:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18:00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 19:00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Total number of different small fishing boats fishing today in the ZTA: 0.
Total number of different small fishing boats fishing today in the ZTA Buffer Zone: 3.
During the first hours of the morning, more than 10 pangas crossed the ZTA to go to the northeast area of the Vaquita Refuge. Around 8:15 we spotted a panga stopped just at the outside border of the ZTA, and when we launched the drone we saw how they finished retrieving what looked like a shrimp net and started leaving towards San Felipe.
At 11:00 we approached a panga stopped also just at the border. They had a flag in the water that they recovered and then deployed again, setting their net in the Buffer Zone. Around 12:00 an Interceptor approached to this panga, they spoke and then the Navy handled them some life jackets, leaving afterwards. At 13:00 we spotted another panga with nets in the water in the Buffer Zone.
There was no small boat activity inside the ZTA from 14:00 to 19:00 besides the occasional crossing. The Navy warship patrolled around the ZTA during the day.
Figure 1. Small fishing boat activity in the ZTA today 6th of May.
Figure 2. Radar screenshot at 13:00, with two pangas fishing (one of them target number 2) in the Buffer Zone and the Navy warship in the ZTA.
