Causes.com
| 8.11.23
First 'Extinction Alert' Issued Over Vaquita Porpoise
Are you concerned about the state of the vaquita?
What’s the story?
- The International Whaling Commission (IWC) issued its first “extinction alert,” warning of the critical state of the vaquita — the world’s tiniest and most critically endangered marine mammal.
- A recent study found there are only 10 vaquita left in the Gulf of California in Mexico. The scientific committee released a statement expressing IWC’s grave concerns over the mammal’s survival, highlighting the actions needed to save it.
- The marine mammal was placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List in 1996 and, since then, has seen a steep decline. The IWC said:
“Despite nearly thirty years of repeated warnings, the vaquita hovers on the edge of extinction…”
What caused the near extinction?
- Vaquitas have been driven to the edge of extinction due to fishing nets known as “gillnets,” which are now illegal in the region. The mammals continue to get caught in the flat fishing nets suspended vertically in the water, eventually killing the animal. The traps are meant to hunt totoaba, another endangered fish.
- The nets have caused the vaquita’s population to drop from over 550 to just 10 over the last decade. The IWC said that in order to save the vaquita from extinction, all gillnets must be replaced with alternative fishing gear.
- It’s estimated that bycatching — known as the unintentional catch of non-targeted species — has killed around 300,000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises yearly.
Actions in place
- The Mexican Navy created zero-tolerance areas in 2022 and increased the enforcement to stop illegal gillnet fishing. The IWC said the structures seem promising but need more monitoring.
- There is evidence of illegal fishing near the edges of the zero-tolerance zones, which the IWC claimed shows how difficult it can be to enforce sea regulations.
- IWC spokesperson Kate Wilson shared a glimmer of hope for the mammals as they “have surprised us all by managing to maintain a population of only around 10 animals for about five years.” Additionally, calf was sighted during a recent survey, according to the vice-chair of the IWC’s scientific committee, Dr. Lindsay Porter, said:
“There is at least one brand new baby vaquita. They haven’t stopped breeding. If we can take away this one pressure, the population may recover. We can’t stop now.”
The importance of the vaquita
- The small, commonly timid, mammals are both predators and prey in their habitat, making them crucial to the food web. Without them, the population control of fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods would get out of hand. Conversely, top predators like sharks and killer whales would lose an important food source.
Are you concerned about the state of the vaquita?
-Jamie Epstein
(Photo credit: Smithsonian CC0/SEMARNAT)
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The Vaquita Porpoise, the world's smallest marine mammal, has only 10 left due to fishing nets, joins hundreds and thousands of other animals on the endangered or extinction list due to human activity, in the case of the porpoise, fishing nets in their habitat.
"...nearly 500 species have gone extinct in the past decade alone. Scientists expect the situation to become much worse, with predictions for species loss ranging from 200 to 10,000 species per year globally. In 2021, the ivory-billed woodpecker was one of 22 species of birds, fish, mussels and bats (and one plant) that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to remove from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) list due to extinction. Species* such as the red wolf, black-footed ferret and vaquita porpoise may be next."
"There are now a total of 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List, and 16,306 of them are endangeredspecies threatened with extinction. This is up from 16,118 compared to last year."
"at if gillnet fishing ends immediately, the vaquita has a very high chance of recovery, even with inbreeding. If, however, the practice continues, even moderately, the prospects of recovery are less optimistic."
https://www.animalsaroundtheglobe.com/most-endangered-animals/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220505143218.htm
https://defenders.org/blog/2022/07/animals-brink-of-extinction
I'm glad Gil net fishing is no illegal in the region. I wonder if there is anything else that will help?
Very concerned
All disasters have a starting point. The oceans are in trouble and all of the inhabitants there are in danger of one type or another.
Yes, I'm concerned! The dwindling biodiversity on our planet caused by our encroachment on wild lands and overfishing and hunting is a real problem which will irrevocably damage our planet.
Extinction protection is necessary, and I hope that the vaquita can be saved.
I guess I am concerned enough now, although sadly this is one of many human-driven "adjustments" the world is being forced to make. I'm more worried about the continuation of our democracy and our nation so that we might actually be able to spend time on other than beating back GOP repression and stupidity and moving ourselves forward.
No, I am not. Tell Japan to stop over fishing and throwing there trash in the ocean so it comes up on our shores. Tell China and India to stop.poluting like drunken sailors. Want it to stop, remove the idiot Democrats and Rinks and we will put Trump in. Crisis after crisis averted immediately.
I am greatly concerned about the state of the vaquita porpoise. The extinction of this porpoise would cause serious problems in the ecosystems they occupy. Also, even if the vaquita porpoise is currently the most endangered of all marine mammals, other marine mammals are not far behind, due to pollution, hunting, fishing, and similar threats. I hope this "extinction alert" for the vaquita porpoise sends out a message to people about both vaquita porpoises and other marine mammals. I hope it prompts all of us to do what we can to save them.
Protections needed!!!!
Yes, I'm concerned that they are now critically endangered. Shouldn't everybody be?
The vaquita is doomed. It is just one of many species that humanity is killing off. Two-thirds of animal life have been killed worldwide in the last 50 years.
Human beings are bad for the health of the planet.
The vaquita are doing quite well in Mexico