{"id":52129,"date":"2017-04-13T12:20:28","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T16:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/adios-vaquita-marina-mexicos-little-sea-cow-is-being-pushed-to-the-edge-of-extinction\/"},"modified":"2017-04-13T12:20:28","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T16:20:28","slug":"adios-vaquita-marina-mexicos-little-sea-cow-is-being-pushed-to-the-edge-of-extinction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/adios-vaquita-marina-mexicos-little-sea-cow-is-being-pushed-to-the-edge-of-extinction\/","title":{"rendered":"Adios, Vaquita Marina? Mexico\u2019s \u2018Little Sea Cow\u2019 is Being Pushed to the Edge of Extinction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adios, Vaquita Marina? Mexico\u2019s \u2018Little Sea Cow\u2019 is Being Pushed to the Edge of Extinction<\/b><\/p>\n

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The vaquita is a critically endangered porpoise species endemic to the northern part of the Gulf of California. It is considered the smallest and most endangered cetacean in the world. Credit: Vaquita photo taken under permit (Oficio No. DR\/488\/08) from the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT), within a natural protected area subject to special management and decreed as such by the Mexican Government<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s just in the wrong place at the wrong time, except it has nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The vaquita marina<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the little sea cow \u2014 is the world\u2019s smallest porpoise. It lives only in the far-northern Gulf of California, just east of Mexico\u2019s Baja peninsula, right where local fishermen are in hot pursuit of a very valuable creature. And its unfortunate fate has it on the brink of extinction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vaquita marina [is]\u00a0a source of pride for many in Mexico,\u201d says American marine biologist Peggy Turk, who works on the Gulf of California. It\u2019s a knobby-nosed creature about 4 and a half\u00a0feet long, with clown-like dark accents around its eyes and mouth. It\u2019s a very shy animal that few people have ever seen alive. And it exists nowhere else in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody wants to kill the vaquita,\u201d Turk says. \u201cIt just happens to live<\/a> in the same place that fishermen are fishing with gill nets.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re fishing for is another endangered species \u2014 a mammoth fish called the totoaba that can weigh as much as 200 pounds. Many Chinese believe the totoaba\u2019s swim bladder has medicinal powers, and they\u2019re worth big bucks in Asia. A single bladder can sell for up to $10,000 in China.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s illegal to catch totoabas, but the temptation can be irresistible. And the gill nets local fisherman use to snag them also trap and kill other marina life, including the vaquita<\/a>. After years of this fishing, scientists now estimate there are as few as 30 vaquitas left<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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A very small and very shy porpoise, the vaquita marina lives only in the far north of Mexico\u2019s Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California. It\u2019s been brought to the edge of extinction by fishing for another endangered but extremely coveted marine species, the totoaba. Credit: NOAA\/Paula Olson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mexican authorities have created a no-fishing zone in the area and imposed a temporary ban on gill nets, which environmental activists are pushing to make permanent. Across the border, the US\u00a0Attorney\u2019s office in San Diego has cracked down on smugglers who ship totoaba bladders from US\u00a0ports to Asia. Since 2013 at least seven people have been convicted and more cases are pending.<\/p>\n

Still illegal fishing continues. In the past year, the marine activist group the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society<\/a> reports pulling more than 200 illegal nets from waters of the no-fishing zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany fishermen have no choice but to turn to illegal fishing,\u201d says Marcos Garc\u00eda, a lifelong fisherman who lives in the local port town of Puerto Pe\u00f1asco. \u201cAmongst ourselves we ask, \u2018who will disappear first, us or the vaquita?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda says the no-fishing zone has hurt local communities, some of which rely almost entirely on fishing. Mexico funds a compensation program for fisherman, but Garc\u00eda says it\u2019s rife with corruption.<\/p>\n

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Fishermen in and around Puerto Pe\u00f1asco, Mexico say they often have no choice but to fish illegally for the totoaba, whose swim bladders can fetch up to $10,000 as a traditional medicine in China. But getting caught in gill nets meant for totaba is the main cause of death of the vaquita marina. Credit: M\u00f3nica Ortiz Uribe<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The situation has created a climate of tension and fear among locals.<\/p>\n

Government inspectors charged with patrolling the no-fish zone weren\u2019t authorized to talk, but say they\u2019re being watched by what they call<\/a> \u201cbad people.\u201d In March a mob of angry fishermen reportedly set fire to their patrol cars and boats. Some of the inspectors were physically beaten.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, out in the waters of the gulf, time is running out for the vaquita marina. In a last-ditch effort to save the species, Mexico announced in January that it will capture some of the porpoises and hold them in a sea pen until it\u2019s safe for them to return to the wild.<\/p>\n

This story was produced with support from the International Women\u2019s Media Foundation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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This map from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the northern Gulf of California shows vaquita habitat, a vaquita refuge, and the gillnet fishing exclusion zone. Credit: NOAA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This article first appeared on PRI The World<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The post Adios, Vaquita Marina? Mexico\u2019s \u2018Little Sea Cow\u2019 is Being Pushed to the Edge of Extinction<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Adios, Vaquita Marina? Mexico’s ‘Little Sea Cow’ is Being Pushed to the Edge of Extinction<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n