‘Vaquita are survivors’: World’s rarest marine mammal clings on at the edge of extinction

Against all odds, the handful of remaining endangered vaquita porpoises are holding on in their only habitat in the Gulf of California in Mexico, according to a new research expedition report released Wednesday.

Experts on the expedition estimate they saw between 10 to 13 of the tiny, shy, elusive porpoises during nearly two weeks of sailing in the gulf last month. That is a similar number to those seen in the last such expedition in 2021. 

Because they are so small and elusive, many of the sightings through powerful binoculars are categorised as probable or likely. The animals also emit “clicks” that can be heard through acoustic monitoring devices.

Experts from Mexico, conservation group Sea Shepherd and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said they saw at least one and probably two young vaquita calves. The sighting has raised hopes for the survival of the world’s most endangered marine mammal.

They say there may even be more vaquitas out there since the voyage covered only part of the creature’s habitat in the gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez. It lives nowhere else, and the species cannot be captured, held or bred in captivity.

But it is far too soon to celebrate. Illegal gillnets have trapped and killed vaquitas for decades. The population has declined from nearly 600 individuals in 1997.

Fishermen set the nets to catch totoaba, a fish whose swim bladder is considered a delicacy in China and can fetch thousands of euros per kilogram.

While the Mexican government has made some efforts to stop net fishing - like sinking concrete blocks with hooks to snag nets - the fishermen still enter the protected area to fish on a daily basis and even sabotage monitoring efforts.

According to the report, “fishermen