The world's smallest porpoise, the vaquita (Phocoena sinus), could soon become extinct. A new report found there are only 60 of them left in the world.
In 2014, there were about 97 vaquitas. However, illegal fishing for totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi), another endangered marine species, accidentally traps the vaquitas as well. In just two years, their already small population has been reduced by 40 percent.
Poachers catch totoaba for their expensive swim bladder, which is considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. Vaquitas also get caught in the gill nets and end up drowning.
"We are watching this precious native species disappear before our eyes. Our latest survey confirms the catastrophic decline before the emergency gillnet ban," said Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, chairman of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA).
Rojas-Bracho is the co-chief scientist of the vaquita report that was recently presented to the Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico and the governor of Mexican state Baja California.
Several initiatives and millions of dollars have been spent on trying to save the rare marine species.
Some of them include the ban on gillnet fishing and compensation for fishermen to shun fishing in the vaquita's area. There are also surveillance activities conducted by military and environmental groups as well as the Mexican government.
"Despite all the best efforts, we are losing the battle to stop totoaba fishing and save the vaquita. We can still save the vaquita, but this is our last chance," said Mexico-based World Wildlife Fund (WWF) CEO Omar Vidal.
The vaquita, discovered in 1958, is the rarest marine mammal in the world and it may only be found in the northern part of the Gulf of California.
Vaquitas have big dark rings around their eyes as well as dark patches on their lips. Their diets include squid, bronze-striped grunts and Gulf croakers.
These elusive creatures, which are also called the Gulf of California harbor porpoise, are rarely seen in the wild.
Save The Vaquita
To save the remaining vaquita in the wild, the WWF advised the Mexican government to enforce a more stringent ban on gillnet fishing in the latter part of 2014.
The agency also asked China and the United States for joint efforts in solving the increasing problems of totoaba fishing, which largely contributes to the reduction of vaquita numbers.
The black market trade of totoaba is accidentally killing off the vaquitas. A Greenpeace-led online petition has been launched to help stop this illegal trade.
