Illegal fishing drives species toward extinction
A vaquita in the Gulf of California. Photo courtesy NOAA/Paula Olsen.
Vaquitas live only in the northern end of the Gulf of California, where they are threatened by illegal fishing.
By Bob Berwyn
FRISCO — Illegal gillnet fishing in the northern Gulf of California continued to take a toll on endangered vaquita porpoises the past few years, according to a new report suggesting that as few as of 50 vaquitas remain.
The report, from the Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA), is based on acoustic detection surveys, which is the best way to count the small porpoises. Based on the most recent survey, the scientists concluded an apparent 42 percent drop in the vaquita population from 2013 to 2014, when scientists estimated the population at less than 100.
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