These fishermen have been collaborating with government agencies and conservation organizations to design, test, and develop new fishing gears that do not endanger vaquitas. These fishermen have been working with Mexico’s National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change to deploy and retrieve acoustic monitoring devices throughout the vaquita’s range, helping scientists to estimate the population status of the vaquita and remove derelict fishing gear. They also work with Mexico’s National Fisheries Institute, World Wildlife Fund Mexico and NOAA Fisheries to test and develop various types of new, non-entangling fishing gear, such as lightweight trawls and traps. Their efforts were recently recognized when they were awarded the Conservation Merit Prize by the international Society for Marine Mammalogy for their role in the first large-scale gillnet ban and alternative gear development effort to save a marine mammal species from extinction.