The rare marine mammal is facing an existential threat from fishing nets. Scientists hope they can be saved, but time is running out
against the Mexican seafood industry and international interventions.
Without strong consequences or enough compensation, there’s little motivation to change. Called the “cocaine of the sea”, totoaba prices far outpace anything fishers could make in above-board markets. Cartels have cashed in, further increasing the incentives to ignore the regulations. “There was no one that was trying to hide anything from us,” Taylor said.
Vaquitas have never been particularly abundant. They tend to produce calves only once every two years and it takes decades for them to mature and reproduce. But Felbab-Brown says that the absence of law enforcement in the area has only exacerbated the issue. “The sense is that anything goes,” she said. “Now in a situation where we have 7 or 8 vaquitas left.