Headlines:Vaquita porpoise on the brink of extinction warns IWC Scientific Committee
August 8, 2023.
The vaquita, a small porpoise that lives only in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico, is facing imminent extinction unless urgent action is taken to eliminate gillnet fishing in its habitat, according to a statement issued by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
The statement, released on 7 August 2023, reveals that there are now only about 10 surviving vaquitas, down from an estimated 567 in 1997. The main cause of the decline is bycatch, or accidental entanglement, in gillnets used to catch shrimp and totoaba, a fish whose swim bladder is highly valued in Asian markets.
The statement summarizes the conservation status, threats, and efforts to save the vaquita, as well as the lessons learned from the failure to prevent its decline. It also calls for wider recognition of the warning signs of impending extinctions and support for the actions needed to save the vaquita.
The Scientific Committee urges that 100% of gillnets are substituted immediately with alternative fishing gears that protect the vaquita and the livelihoods of fishers. It also recommends developing and testing alternatives to gillnets, engaging with community members and leaders, improving enforcement and governance, and monitoring the effects of gillnet deterrence structures that have been installed in a designated “Zero Tolerance Area” (ZTA) in the vaquita’s core habitat.
The statement concludes that "the extinction of the vaquita is inevitable unless 100% of gillnets are substituted immediately with alternative fishing gears that protect the vaquita and the livelihoods of fishers. If this doesn’t happen now, it will be too late."
The vaquita is one of many cetacean species that are threatened by bycatch, which is estimated to kill more than 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises every year. The statement highlights the need to look beyond the immediate conservation concern and address wider factors that affect the survival of these animals.