The World's Most Endangered Marine Mammal Might Have Just Got a Lifeline
The World's Most Endangered Marine Mammal Might Have Just Got a Lifeline
Written by Victoria Turk
Editor, UK
15 October 2015 // 10:00 AM CET
This month, US researchers working in Mexico’s Baja California were lucky enough to catch a very rare sight: two live vaquitas, the most endangered marine mammal in the world.
New conservation commitments from Mexican authorities will hopefully contribute to making vaquita sightings a more common occurrence. Agreements made in a recent session of a group led by Secretary of Environment Rafael Pacchiano aim to help ward off what was starting to look like the imminent extinction of the tiny porpoise.
The vaquita, which is endemic to that area of the Gulf of California, is incredibly hard to spot because, thanks to its propensity to get caught in now-banned “gillnets” used to catch other fish, there are estimated to be fewer than 100 left. The main cause of the decline in vaquita is the black market for the swim bladder of the endangered totoaba fish, which is illegally fished using nets that can also snag the vaquita, causing it to drown.
The new agreements in Mexico include greater coordination with NGOs working in the area to help conserve the vaquita, an increased number of inspectors to monitor the situation, and a commitment to explore temporary employment options in the tourism industry for local fishermen who have lost their livelihood to the ban on fishing.
More:
http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/the-worlds-most-endangered-marine-mammal-might-have-just-got-a-lifeline
= new reply since forum marked as read
