Vaquita - Saving the Desert Porpoise

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Vaquita - Saving the Desert Porpoise




Help save the world's most endangered marine mammal.

The vaquita, one of six species of porpoise, is the rarest and most-endangered species of marine mammal, found only in the northern extreme of the Gulf of California. There are only about 200 left in the world. The main threat to the Vaquita is its incidental catch in fishing gear, especially gillnets set for shrimp. The majority of shrimp is destined for the U.S. market where it is now the nation's most popular seafood choice. Vaquita aren't the intended target of any fishery, they are merely the by-catch of local fishers trying to earn a living and feed their families. For the fishers of El Golfo de Santa Clara, San Felipe and Puerto Penasco along the Mexican Coast of the Sea of Cortez, the vaquita is collateral damage.

CEDO Intercultural, located in Puerto Penasco on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, where the vaquita lives, has been studying the vaquita and initiating and participating in conservation efforts of the vaquita and other species for more than 30 years. CEDO works closely with fishermen to do this, studying their fisheries, and engaging them in taking actions to minimize or eliminate their impact on the vaquita. Fishermen participation in this program is vital to its success. CEDO has earned fishermen's trust and works with them to save the vaquita and to implement best practices that reduce impacts in all of their fisheries.

Recently, CEDO launched a program to test fisherman's gear that threatens the vaquita and provide new, vaquita safe nets. For every 50 nets that are tested, the equivalent of a full day of vaquita threatening gillnetting is eliminated.

You can help. Just $25.00 eliminates half of a day of gillnetting that threatens vaquita.

CEDO Intercultural is a 501c3 nonprofit based out of Tucson, AZ and Puerto Penasco, Mexico whose mission is to empower coastal communities in the Northern Gulf of California region with the knowledge and tools to create sustainable livelihoods that exist in concert with the surrounding natural and multicultural environment.
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Published on Dec 9, 2013
Vaquita porpoise in Mexico is marine mammal on the brink of extinction. Less than 200 animals remain and gillnets - nearly invisible fishing nets set for shrimp - are the primary cause of their mortality.

I filmed this story over 5 years including top marine scientists, conservationists, and people from the local communities. I spoke with researcher Bob Pitman of NOAA about an extinction of the Yangtze River Dolphin in China. I spent two months on an international scientific expedition in Mexico searching for the elusive animal in the upper gulf of California. I met local fishermen whose survival is dependent on the sea. And, I visited with researchers at WWF Mexico to learn more about a potential solution that may bring these animals back from the edge. However, has time run out?

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1. Important subject. Hope this post gets a lot more action.