News

Critically endangered vaquita porpoise

With fewer than 40 vaquita porpoises remaining in the wild, the Mexican government—and the world—are in a race against time to round up and provide refuge for the most critically endangered marine species. Collaborating with the U.S. Navy, the Mexican government hopes to utilize dolphins trained to locate lost scuba divers to help find and relocate the last remaining vaquitas to a marine refuge.

The vaquita porpoise is the smallest porpioise in the world and are only known to live in the northern Gulf of California—also known as the Sea of Cortez. This body of water that lies between the Baja Peninsula and mainland Mexico is heavily fished for totaba, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. The fishermen use nets that ultimately entangle and kill the vaquitas. The government has banned the use of gill nets, but many still remain in the sea and are used illegally. The project will begin in September.

Read more here.