The Vanishing Vaquita by Conor Kuzmack

The Vanishing Vaquita 

I am very worried that the Vaquita will not exist in less than in a decade, if we don’t act now! The Vaquita is a critically endangered marine mammal, and is a rare species of porpoise and is is the smallest living cetacean in the world and is the only cetacean species endemic to Mexican waters. A cetacean is a type of marine mammal such as whales, dolphins, or porpoises. The Vaquita is known to live only in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico, and San Felipe, Baja California, and is often referred to as the Gulf Of California Porpoise. The Vaquita lives in relatively shallow depths of fifty feet, and feed on a variety of benthic fishes, squids, and crustaceans.

The vaquita is near the top of the food web in its northern Gulf of California ecosystem. It is likely that the decline in the vaquita population has already had negative impacts on the other species of the Gulf. If there are no vaquitas, there will be fewer animals to prey upon small and medium-sized fish. Vaquitas are opportunistic eaters and have been known to eat dozens of species of fish. An increase in these small and medium size fish would therefore cause a decrease in other species such as small animals and plants like plankton, which would then cause a decrease in species like baleen whales. The vaquita is also a food source for multiple shark species, such as the great white shark, and possibly killer whales, so therefore the absence of vaquitas would make it more difficult for these predatory species to locate prey

The Vaquita Family Home

The Vaquita have been observed to live in small groups of up to 8-10 individuals, and have many such small groups that live over a small area of several kilometers. Vaquitas are very shy animals. They don’t jump out of the water and try to avoid boats and humans. These animals do not migrate from their home area.

Sadly, Dwindling Numbers

There have been three complete surveys for Vaquitas. The results of the 1997 survey showed an estimate of 567 vaquitas, and in 2008 an estimate of 245. The last survey completed in 2015, showed the population was severely reduced to an estimated of 59 remaining vaquitas! These three estimates reveal a catastrophic population decline that has been occurring in the population. Monitoring data and the 2015 survey estimate show that the species are numbered at about 30 individuals as of November 2016 and will likely be extinct within a decade. We can’t let this happen!

Threats to the Vaquita

These amazing animals are dying from being caught in fishing gillnets of various sizes. Gillnets are common nets used by many fisherman in commercial fishing. It is a vertical wall of netting that is wide enough for fish to get their heads through it, however not their bodies. The fish then tries to back out of net, but gets stuck because of their gills. This is very serious issue and is an immediate threat to the Vaquita survival. Other potential threats include: pesticide exposure and ecological changes as a result of reduced flow from the Colorado River.

Current efforts to Save the Vaquita

I am happy to report that there are efforts being made to save these small beautiful marine mammals. An International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA) was established in 1997 and has developed many recommendations over its nine reports. The most consistent and important recommendation is to permanently ban the manufacture, possession, or use of all gillnets on land or sea throughout the range of Vaquitas. In June 2017, a permanent ban was published in the Mexican Federal Register that made the use or transport of gillnets illegal, with exemptions for two fish species. Night fishing was also banned and legal entry and exit points were restricted. Since many of these provisions were temporarily in place from 2015-2017 and illegal fishing continued to occur at high rates, better compliance and enforcement are essential and it remains to be seen whether this will be forthcoming. CIRVA also recommends that as many Vaquitas as possible be removed into protective sanctuary in efforts to save them. An international team (Vaquita CPR) was formed to carry out this effort.

Let’s Take Action Now Before it’s too Late

There is still more action that is needed to save these animals. These actions include: creating protection sites, protecting habitat, species management, formal education and training. I suggest we should ban all gilnets in zone where Vaquita live. We should petition and place pressure on the Mexican government to step in and protect the Vaquita. We must act now if we to save these wonderful animals from extinction.






Rojas-Bracho, L. & Taylor, B.L. 2017. Phocoena sinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T17028A50370296. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T17028A50370296.en.