RARE, MYSTERIOUS, AND DISAPPEARING: THAT’S THE VAQUITA.This elegant porpoise, found only in the Gulf of California, teeters on the edge of extinction and could disappear forever. Despite numerous challenges, a committed group of people—the Mexican government, environmentalists, donors, scientists and local communities—have all worked to preserve this unique species.
The delicious shrimp cocktail on our dining table may threaten the vaquita in their habitat as gill nets on shrimping boats in the upper Gulf of California unintentionally snare them. As the number of vaquita was dwindling down to only a few hundred in 2005, the Mexican government intervened and, along with the governments of U.S. and Canada, established a vaquita conservation program to preserve and protect this rare species from harmful shrimp fishing practices that caused vaquita mortality known as “by catch.”
Hope rose to the surface when a 2008 scientific cruise captured stunning photographs of the elusive vaquita. This event spurred additional efforts to improve scientific monitoring and invest in law enforcement. The involved agencies and organizations have made progress through working directly with fishing crews to transition to more sustainable practices, more selective fishing gear, or to develop alternate livelihoods.
Mexican agencies like INE, CONANP, PROFEPA, CONAPESCA, have all played key roles in this developing story. CGBD has worked with donors, agencies and NGOs to support the ongoing conservation work. The ultimate outcome for the vaquita remains to be seen, but the robust conservation work and collaborative efforts ongoing in the Gulf of California provide hope that the story of the vaquita won’t end soon.