Vaquitas, known scientifically as Phocoena sinus, are neither dolphins nor what you commonly call whales, but they do belong to the same group of marine mammals, known as cetaceans. Vaquitas…
ASCOBANS
ASCOBANS is an acronym for “Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas”. ASCOBANS was concluded in 1991 as the Agreement on the Conservation of…
Can vaquitas be kept in captivity?
With fewer than 20 individuals estimated to be left in the wild, the question of whether to keep vaquitas in captivity has been a matter of debate among conservationists and…
CIRVA
CIRVA is an acronym for Comité Internacional para la Recuperación de la Vaquita (International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita). CIRVA is an international team of scientists established by…
How do researchers look for and “count” vaquita?
Researchers combine visual surveys and passive acoustic monitoring to estimate the dwindling vaquita population, but despite their best efforts, pinpointing an exact number remains an ongoing challenge. Their elusive nature…
How does ocean pollution affect porpoises?
Many contaminants are lipophilic, meaning that they dissolve in fats (lipids). Porpoises have blubber, a thick layer of fat underneath the skin that keeps them warm. And that is where…
How many Vaquitas are left in the world in 2023?
The most recent assessment by the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA) presents a sobering outlook on the vaquita’s dwindling population. In 2018, CIRVA estimated that a…
If there are only so few left, can we still save the vaquita?
We can’t know for sure. But there have been several examples of marine mammal species that have come back from the brink of extinction. The vaquita population can recover if the immediate threat is removed from its habitat. And the only real danger for the vaquita are gill-nets.
Is the vaquita extinct?
The vaquita is not yet extinct but is considered critically endangered. With fewer than 20 individuals estimated to remain in the wild, the vaquita is the world’s most endangered marine…
Totoaba
The totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) is a very large species of fish that is endemic to the Gulf of California in Mexico. Once abundant, the totoaba has become rare and is…