Ship: Seahorse
Name: Heidy M. & Laura S.
Date: 28/10/2023
Ship’s Activity: Monitoring
| Hour | Small boats Inside ZTA | ||||
|
Total |
Net Fishing | Divers | Potential Net Fishing | Crossing | |
| 05:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 06:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 07:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 08:00 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 09:00 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10:00 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12:00 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13:00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14:00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18:00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 19:00 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 20:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Hour | Small boats in the ZTA Extension | ||||
|
Total |
Net Fishing | Divers | Potential Net Fishing | Crossing | |
| 06:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 07:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 08:00 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 09:00 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 8 |
| 10:00 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 4 |
| 11:00 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 3 |
| 12:00 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| 13:00 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| 14:00 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 15:00 | 41 | 18 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 16:00 | 41 | 18 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 17:00 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
| 18:00 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| 19:00 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
Table 1. Small boat counting was done during the 28th of October from 00:00 to 20:00 with radar observations. The hours not represented in this table correspond to hours when no small boats were seen in the ZTA or outside.
| Hour | Small boats in the Buffer Zone | ||||
|
Total |
Net Fishing | Divers | Potential Net Fishing | Crossing | |
| 07:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 09:00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11:00 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 12:00 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 19:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Hour | Small boats in the VR | |||
|
Total |
Net Fishing | Divers | Potential Net Fishing | |
| 06:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 07:00 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 08:00 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 09:00 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 10:00 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 11:00 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| 12:00 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 13:00 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 14:00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 15:00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 16:00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 17:00 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 18:00 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 19:00 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 20:00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Total number of different small fishing boats fishing today in the ZTA: 5.
Total number of different small fishing boats fishing today in the ZTA Extension: 20.
Total number of different small fishing boats fishing today in the ZTA Buffer Zone: 0.
Small boat activity began at 05:00 and an increase in activity began at 08:00 where 14 small boats were seen arriving to the ZTA extension. The drone was launched to gather evidence and 2 small boats were identified and confirmed fishing. The navy was contacted and the Seahorse then left the area to focus on the small boat seen inside of the ZTA an hour later. The small boat was confirmed fishing with the drone and the Navy was contacted again at 09:09. The Seahorse kept monitoring the ZTA until another small boat was observed inside of the ZTA at 10:30. The Navy vessel, the interceptor, arrived 8 minutes later next to the small boat and the small boat began retrieving their nets out of the water and fully retrieved their nets by 10:52.
Starting at 12:00 we lost range of SE corner of the BZ and vaquita refuge since we started monitoring further North where most of the small boats were concentrated in the extension.
At 14:00 we spotted a net in the ZTA, just inside next to the border. By 15:00 it had drifted to the Extension and the small boat who owned that net could not be identified. At that same hour, a minimum of 18 nets (pair of flags in the surface) were counted with binoculars in the ZTA Extension. Considering that visual observation of nets in the water have limitations regarding identifying the same ones after an hour, the number of different small boats fishing in the ZTA Extension is a downward approximation.
Shortly before 16:00, a Navy vessel Interceptor came carrying two people from SEMARNAT that disembarked on the Seahorse for a visit; the Interceptor then checked on some small boats in the Extension and confiscated one net. Activity started to decrease after 18:00.
At 20:00 we started to go south for shelter from the bad weather for the upcoming days.
Figure 1. Small fishing boat activity in the ZTA today, 28th of October.
Figure 2. Small fishing boat activity in the ZTA Extension today, 28th of October.
Figure 3. Radar screenshot at 15:00.
