Local and international conservation groups, including Museo de Ballena and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, are working with the Mexican Navy to detect fishing in the Refuge Area and remove illegal gillnets. In March 2020, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced a ban on imported Mexican shrimp and other seafood caught in vaquita habitat in the northern Gulf of California. In January 2021, a Mexican fisherman died and another was injured as a result of a collision between their boat and Sea Shepherd's "Farley Mowat" vessel which was removing an illegal net when it came under attack.