The tiny marine mammal you’ve never heard of
The northern end of the Gulf of California in Baja California, Mexico is home to the most endangered species of cetean on Earth.
The thing is, there are only ten of them left.
Vaquita, the world's rarest marine mammal, is on the edge of extinction.
This little porpoise was only discovered in 1958 and relatively little is known about them. We do know that they are tiny; about 1.2 - 1.5m in length and females are bit larger than the males. They have dark patches around their eyes, similar to a panda and look like they are smiling.
Vaquita are often caught and drowned in gillnets used by illegal fishing operations in marine protected areas within Mexico's Gulf of California.
Credit: WWF
So why are they disappearing so fast?
Vaquitas are being hunted to extiniction due to gillnets. Gillnets are a type of net used to catch other marine species, so that saddest part of the story is that vaquitas are not usually caught intentionally. Instead, they are caught as in discriminatory by-catch.
Despite the Mexican government’s temporary ban on gillnets in 2015, which was made permanent in 2017, gillnet use has rocketed due to illegal fishing for totoaba.
The totoaba is a type of fish, which is caught for their swim bladder (a part of the insides of a fish used to help keep the fish bouyant). The swim bladder is cut out, dried and shipped to different parts of the world, mainly Asia. Its sold on the black market for its ‘magical properties’. The totoaba swim bladder is worth a lot of money - more than cocaine, and many drug cartels and organised criminals are involved with the trade. This demand for ‘cocaine of the sea’ makes it difficult for conservationists trying to save the vaquita, like Dr Lorenza Rojas-Bracho, Head of the Mexican Government Marine Mammal Research who has been threatened several times but cartel gangs for trying to stop the illegal fishing. To make matters worse, the totoaba’s spawning ground overlaps with the vaquita’s only habitat.
The orange area outlines the vaquita’s small habitat area.
What is being done to help the Vaquita?
Since the vaquita was first described by science and shortly after declared “vulnerable” by the IUCN, numerous actions have been taken by the Mexican government to save the species, however none of these actions have stopped the decline.
However, the only way to save the vaquita is for the government to stamp out the illegal totoaba poaching and trade and remove all nets from the vaquitas' home.
In 2017, an international team of experts from around the world embarked on an ambitious last-ditch attempt to save the vaquita from extinction. The mission, named VaquitaCPR (CPR for “Conservation, Protection, Recovery”), aimed to capture some of the last remaining vaquita and to re-release the animals once their habitat was deemed safe for their return. The team managed to capture two animals. One, a juvenile, had to be released shortly after its capture and another female of reproductive age began showing signs of stress when in captivity and had to be released. Sadly she died shortly after, however the scientific discovery about the species gained from the female vaquita will hopefully aid conservationists in current and future protection methods.
Is there hope?
The story of the vaquita is one of many that showcases humanity’s greed and how we are willing to sacrifice nature. It’s also a stark example of just how complicated conservation really is. Politics, money, power; all unfortunately, play a big role.
A new study suggests that the Vaquita can recover naturally if illegal fishing is eliminated.
But with only 10 Vaquita left, it is really a race against time.
More resources:
WWF - Vaquita