Abstract

…We want to emphasize that more than 90 % of our manuscript is devoted to these local fishermen perception analyses.

However, in its final section, our article does refer that one of the potential distal causes of the decline of the Vaquita Marina could also have been the affectation of its original habitat and that such one cause could be due to the damming of the Colorado River by the United States of America. For all the comments received, which we appreciate, we are aware now that, given the very delicate, and even sometimes perilous conditions in which occurs the application of proximal conservation to saving the Vaquita, especially in terms of measures for this species, that simply alluding to potential distal causes that could potentially have affected this species in the past could be used out of context, to attack the present measures being applied to protect and ensure the survival of the Vaquita Marina.

Simply by referring to distal causes, this reference can be used to question the proximal measures of protection so urgently required in the present to prevent the extinction of this species. In this context, we really appreciate that Flessa et al., have very clearly pointed out, that our allusion to the Colorado River damming could be used out of context.

Therefore, it should be emphasized that our academic manuscript at no time refers, for example, to advice, or even suggests, or insinuates, that current agreements and current proximal measures applied for the protection of the Vaquita must be lifted….