Animals / vaquita-porpoise-crisis
Facts about Vaquita Porpoise Crisis
- 05
Vaquita means 'little cow' in Spanish, reflecting the small size of this porpoise native to Mexican waters.
- 04
Totoaba fish are poached largely to supply black markets in China, where their swim bladders are highly valued as a luxury food item.
- 03
Conservation efforts for the vaquita porpoise crisis include a government-enforced fishing ban in its habitat within the upper Gulf of California.
- 02
Illegal gillnets set for the totoaba fish are the primary cause of vaquita bycatch deaths, driving the porpoise toward extinction.
- 01
The vaquita porpoise, endemic to Mexico's Gulf of California, is considered the world's most critically endangered marine mammal, with fewer than ten individuals estimated to survive.