Cruise ships to launch in December, even though port at Rocky Point isn’t ready
PUERTO PEÑASCO, Mexico – The first cruise ship to ply the Sea of Cortez will launch in December, using small tender boats to ferry passengers to and from land while work continues on port facilities.
Corridors for cats: Conservationists work to keep jaguar populations genetically viable
ALAMOS, Mexico – Jaguars in Sonora and Sinaloa come and go through a series of corridors, which keeps these core populations genetically diverse. If those corridors are destroyed, the northernmost jaguars in the Americas could die out.
Cameras and coexistence: Learning to live with jaguars
SAHUARIPA, Mexico – Jaguars once roamed the Americas from Argentina to Arizona. To ensure the survival of the endangered cat, conservationists are working to change the minds of ranchers in Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. court upholds ban on Mexican seafood to protect endangered porpoise
PHOENIX – A federal appeals court has upheld a ban on Mexican seafood caught with gillnets in the northern reaches of the Sea of Cortez, which is meant to protect the vaquita marina porpoise.
Scout’s honor: Despite trying schedules, baseball’s talent evaluators committed to craft
PHOENIX – The life of a baseball scout is not easy. But for talent evaluators like Jon Kazanas, the joy that comes from finding prospects makes it worth it.
Mexico becomes top U.S. trade partner for first time
HERMOSILLO, Mexico – Mexico has long been Arizona’s top trade partner. Now, for the first time, our southern neighbor is also the No. 1 trade partner with the United States.
‘A treasure for humanity’: Binational group looks for inventive ways to protect Sonoran Desert
EL DESEMBOQUE, Mexico – Next Generation Sonoran Desert Researchers was formed nearly a decade ago to tackle such conservation challenges as climate change, mega-development or a border wall in different ways.
Bill targeting ‘unfair’ trade in Mexican produce would raise prices, critics say
NOGALES – Fruit and vegetable growers in Arizona and Mexico say a bill in Congress intended to address unfair practices by Mexican growers would help producers in Florida but force higher prices for U.S. consumers.
Arizona, New Mexico and Sonora team up on deal to ship natural gas to Asia
PHOENIX – The governors of Arizona, New Mexico and Sonora, Mexico, have agreed to a four-year pact to promote the production and transmission of natural gas produced in New Mexico. The gas is to be piped through Arizona to Sonoran ports on the Sea of Cortez, where it will be processed and sent to Asia.
Vaquita’s last stand: Saving the porpoise may depend on creating a legal market for totoaba
SAN FELIPE, Baja California – A plan to capture and breed the endangered vaquita marina in a giant ocean aquarium failed, but out of that came a new plan: use the aquarium to breed totoaba, the fish targeted by poachers. Conservationists hope by creating a legal market for totoaba, vaquita no longer will be killed by poachers’ gillnets.
Vaquita’s last stand: Fishermen want to help but need to feed their families, too
SAN FELIPE, Baja California – In the Upper Gulf of California, many people fish to survive. And while some fishermen support efforts to save the vaquita, others feel that their own survival and way of life is being destroyed. Part 2 of the series delves into the experiences of local fishermen and their complex relationship with the vaquita.
Vaquita’s last stand: The struggle to save the world’s rarest marine animal
SAN FELIPE, Baja California – The vaquita porpoise is a victim of the Sinaloa drug cartel who fish for a species in the same waters and sell on the Chinese black market. Part 1 of this series examines the dangers the totoaba trade presents to the vaquita and the efforts to fight back against illegal fishing.
