In September 2011, Mexico announced to the United Nations a plan to ban shark and stingray fishing from 2012. The temporary ban covers Mexico's territorial seas and expansive exclusive economic zone in the Pacific Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. It will be in force during the period of greatest reproductive intensity, May to August. The gill net ban dates from 1992, it covers the use of a specific type of gill net (12 inch mesh) in order to protect the vaquita.13 More recently, a vaquita refuge was designated in 2005, and there are complete bans on both gill nets and shrimp trawling in this area (Sanjurjo et al., The area affected by fires varies yearly due to weather variations and other factors (USAID, 2009). There may be a good rationale for such approaches when natural resource users are especially poor, though the objectives and means of achieving them require careful consideration.