NY Times carries article about saving the VAQUITA:
Will Mexico Save Its Vanishing Vaquita?
Source: New York Times
In recent decades, the sleek, wide-eyed vaquita porpoise has been pushed to the brink of extinction by poachers pursuing another critically endangered sea creature, the totoaba, a fish whose swim bladder sells on the Chinese black market for thousands of dollars. The porpoises end up caught in nets intended for the totoaba and killed as collateral damage.
There is little time left to act to save the vaquita, yet there is hope. For Mexico’s new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the fate of the little porpoise represents political opportunity and the chance of failure. He can do nothing and preside over the first sea mammal extinction in North America in decades. Or he can save one of Mexico’s national symbols and rescue a troubled fishing industry.
“This is doable even now,” said Brooke Bessesen, a conservationist and author of a new book, “Vaquita: Science Politics and Crime in the Sea of Cortez.” “We have to come up with solutions that buy time. This is not a numbers game. It’s a game of time.”
Yet the vaquita clings to life. In October, four were spotted in open water. The little porpoise may possess a unique genetic advantage that could allow it to recover in the wild if just left alone. The vaquita was never widely distributed, numbering perhaps only 5,000 at its modern height and located only in the Sea of Cortez. But there is no evidence that it has hit the bottleneck of birth defects from inbreeding often seen in declining populations.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/19/opinion/mexico-porpoise-extinction.html
NY Times!
OK, not my favorite paper NORMALLY, but I think it gets a lot of attention nationwide.
Great piece on the VAQUITA there is HOPE with immediate ACTION!!
Maybe this will finally get endangered species back in the national discussion. My family watched "Big Miracle" recently and the entire nation was captivated by the plight of 3 gray whales trapped in the ice. It is time the vaquita held our attention the same way.
As I posted here:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211925349
If we can't save the vaquita, no matter what our cause is, it is probably doomed. Saving the vaquita is an easy one. Small geographic area, not competing with humans, ONE reason, and easy fix. No nets, no death. A "NO GO" marine reserve would easily increase productivity in the rest of the Sea of Cortez.
Sea Shepherd is the group that has stuck by this and pulled the nets. Please consider helping. This could be the last year there are vaquita without your help.
https://seashepherd.org/campaigns/milagro/
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