The remaining handful of Mexico’s endangered vaquita porpoises are holding on in their only habitat in the Gulf of California, according to a new research expedition report.
By MARK STEVENSONIn this photo courtesy of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a vaquita marina swims in the Biosphere Reserve of the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta, in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, May 20, 2023. Experts on the expedition estimate they saw between 10 and 13 of the porpoises during nearly two weeks of sailing in May 2023 in the Gulf of California.
That is a similar number to those seen in the last such expedition in 2021. Because they are so small and elusive, many of the sightings through powerful binoculars are categorized as probable or likely. The animals also emit “clicks” that can be heard through acoustic monitoring devices. But it is far too soon to celebrate. Illegal gillnets have trapped and killed vaquitas for decades; the population has declined from nearly 600 vaquitas in 1997.
According to the report, “fishermen have begun removing the acoustic devices used to record vaquita clicks. The data recorded on each device is lost, and it is expensive to replace the stolen CPODs.” The expedition took place May 10-26, and crisscrossed a corner of the gulf where the few remaining vaquitas had last been seen.
Sea Shepherd has been working in the Gulf alongside the Mexican Navy to discourage illegal fishing in the area known as the ‘zero tolerance’ zone, and no fishing is supposedly allowed there. However, illegal fishing boats are regularly seen there, and so Mexico has been unable to completely stop them.
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