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 mammal.
Conservation efforts, including habitat preservation, fishing regulation enforcement, and public awareness campaigns, are ongoing to protect the remaining vaquita population. The primary threat to their survival is bycatch in fishing nets, particularly gillnets used in the illegal totoaba trade.
While the situation for the vaquita is dire, there is still hope that these elusive porpoises can be saved if immediate and concerted action is taken to address the threats they face.