He sits in his living room, his eyes proudly lost in the picture that hangs on the wall. In those days, Don Juan explains, fishermen would find schools of tuna by looking for dolphin fins -many times by helicopter. In this area of the Pacific Ocean, dolphins swim with tuna, protecting the fish from predator sharks. It was not until the 1950's that fishermen discovered this. After the embargo, Mexican fishermen adopted new techniques, allowing dolphins to escape the purse seines.
Some fishermen even jump into the water to personally aid the dolphins out of the nets.
Fishermen have died in the process. But many dolphins have also been saved. By 1993, the number killed had been reduced to 3,716. This represents a 97 percent reduction from the 1990 numbers. These reductions helped bring about an end to the U.S. embargo in April of this year, but not to the problems for Mexican tuna fishermen.