International Save the Vaquita Day
July 8, 2017

Today we honor International Save the Vaquita Day. The Vaquita is the smallest porpoise in the world, measuring only around four feet long. They are also the most endangered marine mammal species in the world with less than 30 remaining. Their main cause of death is from being caught in gillnets, many of which are illegal. Poachers use gillnets to catch the endangered totoaba fish whose bladders sell for high prices in China where it is falsely believed that it cures various ailments. The vaquita are caught up in this deadly trade and their future existence is now in serious doubt. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been working tirelessly, removing over 250 gillnets from the northern Gulf of California where they reside. Unfortunately the other efforts, such as a temporary ban on gillnets that began in 2015, have not worked. The poachers are still running rampant in the area and driving the vaquita to extinction.

There have been renewed efforts in 2017, most likely the last chance to save the species, that have at least some hope. The President of Mexico has signed an agreement stating that enforcement of the gillnet ban will be increased and prosecution of its violators will happen more frequently. It also calls for a ban on nighttime fishing in the region and the establishment of monitored entry and exit points for fishing vessels. It remains to be seen what effect these proposed measures will have but researchers are beginning an absolute last-ditch plan: a program to capture some vaquitas and bring them to a sanctuary where the species can be protected and breeding efforts can begin. This will be immensely difficult and researchers acknowledge it but they understand that if the new efforts by the Mexican government are 'Plan Y' that the capture plan is 'Plan Z'. Barbara Taylor, a biologist from the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Consortium for Vaquita Conservation, Recovery and Protection (VaquitaCPR) did an interview regarding this new effort at the Revelator, a project of the Center for Biological Diversity. It's a great resource for information and we encourage everyone to check out the interview here.

To close our statement on International Save the Vaquita Day, we want to talk about our East Coast friends, the North Atlantic right whale. We are unfortunately reminded of their plight when we think about the vaquita. We understand that of course no two species can be perfectly compared as there are always different factors affecting their survival but there are clear similarities:


-They are both highly endangered marine mammals who have the same leading cause of death: entanglement in fishing gear. For the vaquitas, it's mostly illegal gillnets and for North Atlantic right whales it's legal lobster traps and gillnets.

-They are both protected under various laws and regulations but neither are protected enough and both are declining quickly. The vaquita has declined more than the North Atlantic right whale, 95% in the past 19 years, but North Atlantic right whales have seen lower amounts of calves in recent years with the average interval between calves rising from 3.3 years in 2010 to 6.6 years in 2016 and only five births in 2017, the lowest in years. There have already been eight deaths this year as of only July 8th meaning the population has seen a decline for the first time since about 1995.


Unfortunately the efforts to save the vaquita may be too late and we don't want to see a similar situation with North Atlantic right whales. This is why we want to get out ahead of the problem and have identified the two main threats they face and what we as citizens can do to prevent their deaths and possible extinction. On our Facts page we have two fact sheets, one on entanglement in fishing gear and one on ship strikes. We urge all who are reading this to check out those fact sheets so we can all have the information we need to help save these whales.

On this International Save the Vaquita Day, on July 8th, 2017 we send out the best wishes we can to the vaquita and the North Atlantic right whale. We also would like to state that our resolve is stronger than ever to save these species from extinction so they can continue to grace our planet for millenia to come.

Sources and Links:

Vaquita CPR

International Save the Vaquita Day

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/sd-me-vaquita-plan-20170607-story.html