Strong Effort in Motion to Save the Vaquita Porpoise from Extinction

Vaquita porpoise

The Mexican government has allocated more than $100 million to save and protect the endemic and critically endangered vaquita porpoise. Two years ago, President Pena Nieto showed his dedication to saving the vaquita by proclaiming a two-year ban on using gillnets throughout the porpoise's range while compensating fishermen and similar industries for their loss of income and improving the multi-agency enforcement of the ban led by the Mexican Navy. However, earlier this year, the gillnet ban was made permanent. Recently, the government has gathered an international team of experts in the town of San Felipe in northern Baja California to initiate an ambitious plan called Vaquita CPR to save the porpoise. This project involves finding and assembling the few remaining porpoises and placing them in an ocean sanctuary off the coast of San Felipe. The porpoises will be released as soon as gillnets and illegal fishing have been removed from their natural habitat. The field operations began on October 12; an acoustic monitoring system will be used to help find the porpoises. This system was first used by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change of Mexico (INECC) in 2012 to oversee the vaquita population. In addition, large floating sea pens have been installed so that animal care experts and veterinarians can intently monitor the rescued porpoises. The WWF will also focus on finding and removing lost or abandoned nets, which can tangle the porpoises and other marine species. Both of these tactics will be carried out with the help of local fishermen.

A floating sea pen off the coast of San Felipe to temporarily hold the porpoises 

A pair of vaquitas

The future of the vaquita porpoise appears to be bright with the Mexican government taking the initiative in collaboration with the WWF and so many international experts to save it from the brink of extinction. What makes this conservation project special is that it consists of a joint cooperation between conservation groups and local fishermen. That is, the fishermen will be helping WWF and others in finding and removing nets in vaquita habitat, and monitoring the porpoises as well. This is a classic example of a full-fledged partnership between the local people, their government, and global conservation groups like the WWF working together to save a species that is on the brink of extinction. According to Cynthia Smith, executive director of the National Marine Mammal Foundation, if this project works, similar approaches may be used to save other marine mammals facing extinction.

View article here