topic: Vaquita

topic: Vaquita

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Concern for Mexico’s vaquita as totoaba swim bladder trafficking surges online
- The dried swim bladders, or “maw,” of totoaba, an endangered fish found in the Gulf of California in northern Mexico, are being increasingly trafficked on digital platforms, according to a report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
- The demand for totoaba has impacted other animals that get caught in the same gillnets, most notably the vaquita, the smallest porpoise in the world.
- EIA’s investigation found an increase in the number of swim bladders sold online and on some social media platforms like WeChat, a Chinese texting and cash payments app.

U.S. says Mexico failed to uphold international treaty protecting vaquita porpoise
- The United States said the government of Mexico has failed to stem the illegal harvest and commercial export of totoaba, which has directly impacted the vaquita.
- The vaquita has dwindled to around just 10 specimens in recent years, the result of getting caught in gillnets targeting totoaba, whose swim bladder is treasured on the Chinese black market.
- US law allows for an embargo on wildlife trade when a country isn’t doing enough to combat illegal activity. However, it isn’t clear that President Joe Biden will take that step.

Experts fear end of vaquitas after green light for export of captive-bred totoaba fish
- After a 40-year prohibition, international wildlife trade regulator CITES has authorized the export of captive-bred totoaba fish from Mexico.
- Conservationists say they fear this decision will stimulate the illegal fishing of wild totoabas and that this will intensify the threats facing the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.
- Only around eight individual vaquitas remain alive; they regularly drown in nets set illegally for totoabas in the Upper Gulf of California, where the two species overlap.
- The swim bladders of totoabas are sold in Asian markets at exorbitant prices because of their value as status symbols and their supposed medicinal properties.

‘Mismanaged to death’: Mexico opens up sole vaquita habitat to fishing
- The Mexican government has eradicated a “no tolerance” zone in the Upper Gulf of California meant to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.
- The former refuge will now be open for fishing and there will be minimal monitoring and enforcement of illegal activity, experts say.
- Conservationists say this move will certainly lead to the extinction of the vaquita, whose numbers have recently dwindled down to about nine.

In the fight to save the vaquita, conservationists take on cartels
- The critically endangered vaquita porpoise, a species endemic to the Sea of Cortez in the Upper Gulf of California in Mexico, is at severe risk of extinction due to illegal gillnet fishing for the critically endangered totoaba fish.
- Andrea Crosta of Earth League International (ELI) says the key to saving the species is arresting all criminals involved in the illegal totoaba trade, while other NGOs work to patrol the Sea of Cortez for illegal gillnet use or to introduce seafood sanctions.
- With only nine vaquita porpoises believed to be left in the world, most experts agree that this year will be critical to the vaquita’s survival.

COVID-19 forces Sea Shepherd to suspend patrols to protect last vaquitas

Marine conservation group Sea Shepherd has made the difficult decision to suspend its campaign to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California. “We haven’t had much choice because we’re dependent upon getting fuel from the Mexican government to do the patrols, and we weren’t able to get the fuel,” Captain […]
Nearly extinct vaquita mothers with calves spotted in recent expeditions
- The latest expeditions in the Gulf of California, Mexico, to survey the vaquita, the world’s smallest cetacean, have yielded sightings of both vaquita mothers and calves. This, researchers say, indicates that the mammals are still reproducing despite threats.
- In a survey carried out between August and September, researchers spotted what they say were likely six distinct individual vaquitas.
- During a subsequent expedition in October, researchers say they spotted vaquitas several times, including six different vaquitas in two groups, and three pairs of mothers and calves.
- This news is hopeful, but the mammal’s future is still perilous due to the continued use of illegal fishing nets in its habitat, experts say.

Vaquita habitat now listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’
- The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to list the Sea of Cortez and its islands in Mexico’s Gulf of California, the only place where the critically endangered vaquita is known to occur, on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
- The porpoise’s numbers have dropped drastically, from around 300 in the mid-2000s to just 10 individuals, according to the latest estimate, mostly as a result of getting entangled in gillnets used in the poaching of totoaba fish.
- The continuing illegal totoaba trade poses a threat to the outstanding universal value of the World Heritage Site, the World Heritage Committee said, recommending that the site be placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Chinese nationals arrested in US after smuggling totoaba swim bladders worth $3.7 million from Mexico
- According to a report this week by Quartz, two Chinese nationals were arrested last month in the state of California with $3.7-million-worth of totoaba swim bladders that they had smuggled from Mexico.
- More than 800 totoaba maws were confiscated by Mexican authorities last year in two separate busts of Chinese nationals who were attempting to smuggle the swim bladders out of the country. Also last year, Chinese customs officials confiscated 980 pounds of totoaba maws, estimated to be worth as much as $26 million.
- These enforcement actions are welcome news, Andrea Crosta, executive director of wildlife trade watchdog group Elephant Action League wrote in a commentary for Mongabay earlier this year. But he added that, without further action to directly disrupt the totoaba maw supply chain and the operations of the wildlife crime networks involved in the illegal trade, there is “absolutely no chance” to save the vaquita.

Suspected totoaba poachers shot by authorities in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez
- Three suspected totoaba poachers were reportedly shot yesterday by Mexican marines following a confrontation over illegal gillnets that had been confiscated.
- According to local news outlet Fronteras, the governor of the Mexican state of Baja California, Francisco Vega, has confirmed that three people were injured in a shootout between suspected poachers and Mexican marines early Thursday morning in San Felipe, a small fishing town on the coast of the Sea of Cortez.
- Gillnets are a piece of fishing tackle that have been banned in the Sea of Cortez because vaquita, a small porpoise considered the most endangered mammal on the planet, become entangled in them and drown. It is believed there are only 10 vaquita left in the Sea of Cortez, also known as the Upper Gulf of California, the vaquita’s only known range.

Vaquita still doomed without further disruption of totoaba cartels (commentary)
- According to our sources on the ground in Baja California, recent arrests of totoaba traffickers in China and pressure on the Chinese traders in Mexico are beginning to have an effect on the illegal totoaba supply chain.
- This is the most important news for the vaquita, the world’s smallest and most threatened porpoise, in years, and a result of — and proof that — intelligence activities and law enforcement can disrupt these criminal enterprises and significantly slow their illegal operations. Intelligence operations produce results.
- Without these efforts aimed at direct disruption of the supply chain itself and the operations of the wildlife crime networks involved, there is absolutely no chance to win the war in the Sea of Cortez, save the vaquita, and save the rest of the region’s extraordinary marine life.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

China seizes totoaba swim bladders worth $26 million, arrests 16
- Chinese customs officials have confiscated 444 kilograms (980 pounds) of totoaba swim bladders, estimated to be worth about $26 million.
- The ongoing Chinese investigation also led to the arrest of 16 people known to be part of a major totoaba trafficking syndicate.
- The illegal totoaba fishery has spelled doom not just for the totoabas themselves, but also for the vaquita, the world’s smallest and rarest porpoise, also found only in the Gulf of California.

Latam Eco Review: Whale attacks, palm oil woes, and hope for vaquitas

Peruvian palm oil, orca attacks on humpback whales, and mining in an Amazon national park are among the recent top stories from Mongabay Latam, our Spanish-language service. Orcas attack young humpbacks migrating north For 30 years, Juan Capella and five other researchers analyzed thousands of photos of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, […]
Investigation reveals illegal trade cartels decimating vaquita porpoises
- An investigation has exposed new details of the illegal trade in the totoaba fish’s swim bladder.
- Totoaba swim bladders are used in traditional medicine and can fetch thousands of dollars per kilogram in Chinese markets.
- Illegal fishing for totoaba is the primary reason vaquita porpoises are headed toward extinction.
- Elephant Action League’s investigation has identified the people involved and the routes they use to smuggle the bladders to buyers in China.

And then there were 12: Why don’t we hear about extinction until it’s too late? (commentary)
- Species threatened with extinction often don’t get the public’s attention until they no longer exist.
- The author, zoologist Sam Turvey, argues that more attention to these critical cases is required.
- Ahead of International Save the Vaquita Day on July 7, Turvey points out that the world’s most endangered marine mammal is dangerously close to extinction, and it’s not alone.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

More than 800 totoaba swim bladders confiscated by Mexican authorities in smuggling busts
- In two separate arrests of Chinese nationals, Mexican police confiscated more than 800 swim bladders from a large fish called the totoaba.
- Totoaba swim bladders are used in traditional medicine and can fetch thousands of dollars per kilogram in Chinese markets.
- Fishing for totoaba has also pushed a small porpoise called the vaquita close to extinction. One recent estimate puts the number of animals left in the wild at 12.

NOAA publishes global list of fisheries and their risks to marine mammals
- The list, published in draft form in late 2017 as part of requirements laid out by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, includes nearly 4,000 fisheries across some 135 countries.
- NOAA says the list represents ‘a strong step forward’ in developing sustainable fisheries.
- These fisheries have until 2022 to demonstrate that the methods they use to catch fish and other marine animals either pose little risk to marine mammals or employ comparable methods to similar operations in the United States.

Only 12 vaquita porpoises remain, watchdog group reports
- The International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita reported in 2017 that there were just 30 vaquita left in the Upper Gulf of California, the body of water that separates Baja California from mainland Mexico and the species’ only known range.
- Mongabay contacted Andrea Crosta, director of the international wildlife trade watchdog group Elephant Action League, just before his return to Mexico in early March 2018.
- After his previous trip in February 2018, Crosta said his sources reported that no more than a dozen vaquitas remain.
- The primary cause of death for the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is becoming entangled in gillnets used to illegally catch totoaba, a giant Mexican fish whose swim bladders are in high demand, especially in China.

Breeding-age female vaquita dies after being taken into captivity
- A team of marine mammal experts assembled by the Mexican government created a project called VaquitaCPR that aims to capture the remaining 30 vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) and keep them safe in specially built floating “sea pens.”
- Late last month, scientists with VaquitaCPR took the first of the marine mammals into captivity. Though the 6-month-old calf became so stressed by its capture that the team quickly chose to release it back into the wild, Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, a scientist with the Mexican government who heads the VaquitaCPR program, suggested that the fact that they were able to successfully find and capture a vaquita at all was an encouraging sign.
- This past weekend, however, it was announced that another vaquita — a breeding-age female — was taken into captivity and subsequently died. This has prompted calls to shut down the vaquita capture program altogether.

Recent report: Totoaba trafficking a conservation and security problem
- The NGO C4ADS reports that the trade of totoaba swim bladders to feed Asian markets is as much a security issue as a conservation problem.
- Fishermen and women in the Gulf of California have continued to pursue the critically endangered fish, despite the ban on gillnets, which have also decimated the vaquita porpoise.
- Vaquita in the wild number fewer than 30 animals, scientists say.
- C4ADS has published the results of its investigation with evidence of the overlap between totoaba traders and drug traffickers on a new website, and will published their recent report in Spanish.

First vaquita ‘rescued’ in bid to save the porpoise from extinction
- A project to save a small, critically endangered porpoise called the vaquita in the Gulf of California succeeded in capturing a 6-month-old calf in mid-October.
- Veterinarians noticed signs of stress, so they made the decision to release it back into the wild, rather than keep it in a sea pen.
- The project’s leaders are heartened by the experience and hope to round up more vaquita to keep them safe from the still-present threat of gillnet entanglement in the northern Sea of Cortez.

Mexico takes ‘unprecedented’ action to save vaquita
- A team of marine mammal experts have begun a search for the last vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) in a last-ditch effort to capture the remaining 30 porpoises until they’re no longer threatened by gillnets.
- VaquitaCPR seeks to house the vaquita in sea pens and includes plans for long-term care and breeding.
- Though seen as ‘risky’ and ‘bold,’ many conservation organizations agree that finding the animals before it’s too late is the only option.

Leonardo DiCaprio teams up with Mexico’s president and wealthiest individual to save the vaquita
- A report by the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita released in February found that there are as few as 30 vaquita left in the Upper Gulf of California, the small marine cetacean species’ only known range.
- Despite the ban adopted by Mexico two years ago, unlawful use of gillnets remains widespread in the Upper Gulf of California, where they’re used to catch totoaba, a fish whose swim bladder is much prized by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.
- Both the Carlos Slim Foundation and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation will reportedly be backing the agreement by committing funds to local development projects and alternative fishing gear options.
- In order to further crack down on illegal fishing activities, the agreement also includes a prohibition on night fishing and measures to tighten entry and exit controls in the vaquita reserve, according to the AP.

Vaquita survival hinges on stopping international swim bladder trade
- Recent investigations by the Elephant Action League and WWF have uncovered the complicated trade in fish swim bladders from the Gulf of California that is pushing a porpoise known as the vaquita toward extinction.
- A two-year-old gillnet ban so far has not yet stemmed the declining numbers of vaquita, which are down 50 percent since 2015 and 90 percent since 2011.
- Not more than 30 vaquita remain in the wild, making it the most endangered cetacean on the planet.
- The swim bladders can sell for as much as $20,000 per kilogram.

How acoustic monitoring gave us a last chance to save the vaquita
- Monitoring the vaquita’s vocalizations has allowed scientists to closely and accurately monitor the species’ unfortunate decline.
- Illegal fishing for totoaba is the biggest threat to the vaquita. They are killed as bycatch, drowning in nets meant for the fish.
- Conservationists say the next step is to capture vaquitas for captivity, a highly controversial plan with major risks.

There are now just 30 vaquita left in the wild
- According to a recent report by the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA), there are now just 30 vaquita left in the Upper Gulf of California, the body of water that separates Baja California from mainland Mexico and the species’ only known range.
- About 49 percent of the remaining vaquita population was lost between 2015 and 2016, CIRVA found.
- The primary cause of death for the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is becoming entangled in gillnets used to catch totoaba, a giant Mexican fish whose swim bladders are much in demand, especially in China.

Scientists say current plan to protect the vaquita will not save the species
- Between 2011 and 2015, the vaquita population decreased by an estimated 80 percent as a result of bycatch in gillnets set illegally to capture totoaba. There are believed to be fewer than 60 left.
- After the White House meeting, President Nieto agreed to permanently ban gillnets in the vaquita’s range (an emergency 2-year ban was adopted in May 2015), in addition to other measures.
- But a team of Mexican and American researchers determined that, while the temporary gillnet ban now in place and the proposal to switch to new trawl gear will likely alleviate the immediate bycatch problem threatening the vaquita, the current conservation plan “neglects local livelihoods, the traditions and heritage of the community, the ecological integrity of the area and increases dependence on fishing subsidies.”

Mexico bans gillnets to protect rare vaquita porpoise
- From September, Mexico will permanently ban the use of gillnets throughout the range of vaquita porpoise in the upper Gulf of California.
- Night fishing will also be phased out by the end of this year.
- Fishermen will have to use specific landing and unloading sites to help enforce protection measures, according to Mexico’s National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission.

Only 60 vaquita porpoises remain in the world
- In 1997, about 570 vaquita porpoises (Phocoena sinus) were estimated to occur in the world.
- Now, only about 60 vaquitas remain, in a small 1,500 square-mile area in northern Gulf of California, according to a recent report.
- Conservationists say that last year’s emergency two-year ban on gillnet fishing throughout the vaquita range, implemented by the Mexican government, must become permanent for vaquita population to recover.

The vaquita could go extinct this year as totoaba poaching continues to increase
- There were “way less than 100” vaquita left last spring according to biologists involved in assessing the population, and this year some unofficial estimates put their number at less than 50.
- At least three vaquita have already been killed this season, and the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group said that necropsies of the vaquita confirmed the cause of death for all three was most likely gillnets, which vaquita become ensnared in after poachers illegally set the nets to catch totoaba.
- Mexico has adopted an emergency two-year gillnet fishing ban throughout the vaquita range, but illegal fishing for totoaba is increasing.

‘Aquatic cocaine’: Illegal trade in swim bladders of rare fish puts world’s rarest porpoise at risk of extinction
- Dried swim bladders of totoabas (also called “maw”) have been dubbed “aquatic cocaine” due to the high prices they fetch mainly in Chinese markets.
- Illegal trade in the swim bladder of the totoabas, has placed not just the totoabas but also the world’s smallest and rarest marine mammal, the vaquita, at risk of extinction, according to report.
- EIA’s investigation has also identified numerous online platforms, such as Facebook, that actively trade in fish maw, including discussions on best routes to smuggle maws into Hong Kong and China.

Vaquita porpoises down to ‘way less than 100,’ Mexican agents shoot fisherman while enforcing new protected area

A fisherman hauls up a critically endangered vaquita porpoise accidentally entangled in his net in 2008. Entanglement in fishing gear threatens the species with extinction. Photo credit: Omar Vidal. With fewer than 100 individuals alive and dropping fast, the vaquita porpoise is just a swish of the tail away from extinction. In April, alerted by […]
Last ditch: Mexico finally gets serious about saving the vaquita

Vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) are more solitary than other cetacean species, but are sometimes found in small groups. Photo by: Paula Olson, NOAA. There are likely less than 100 vaquita (Phocoena sinus) on the planet. Found only in the northern pocket of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, the vaquita is a tiny, shy porpoise that […]
U.S., Mexico, Canada pledge to save the vaquita from extinction

U.S., Mexico, Canada pledge to save the vaquita from extinction U.S., Mexico, Canada pledge to save the vaquita from extinction mongabay.com October 30, 2008 Last stand for the world’s smallest and rarest porpoise

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