A Mexican drift-net fisherman displays a starfish caught as by-catch in the 1km long drift net used on the panga fishing boat he works on. Though pangas themselves are small fishing boats, their sheer numbers pose a great threat to the marine environment at the northern end of the Gulf of California, including the critically endangered vaquita dolphin. There are 220 bottom-trawling panga’s using drift-nets operating from the small town of San Felipe alone.
The Greenpeace vessel 'MY Esperanza' is currently in Mexico to highlight the threats to the 'world's aquarium' from over-fishing, destructive tourism development, pollution and marine habitat loss.