For decades, news about the vaquita(Phocoena sinus) has become increasingly depressing as numbers declined year after year. Now there is new hope, as the latest estimate of the vaquita population in the upper Gulf of California in Mexico has revealed that the current population of the species is 10 to 13 individuals, including one or two calves. This means that no additional animals have been lost compared to previous surveys, perhaps the population has increased by a few individuals. It is important to note that these numbers are estimates.
The survey was conducted by the Cetacean Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the Gulf of California in May 2023 (https://iucn-csg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Vaquita-Survey-2023-Main-Report.pdf).
The vaquita population has declined to critical levels, mainly due to illegal fishing of shrimp and totoaba, another highly threatened species. It is important to point out that between 1997 and 2008, the vaquita population decreased from 567 to 245 individuals. Later, from 2008 to 2015, the rate of decline of the harbor porpoise increased from 8% to 45% per year. The last estimate in 2021 assumed that there would be only seven or eight adults and one or two calves.
To save the vaquita from extinction, fishing was banned in a so-called zero-tolerance area in the northern part of the Gulf of California, but illegal fishing still takes place there. In August 2022, the Mexican Navy deployed 193 concrete blocks in the area with three-meter-high metal hooks designed to snag nets. In addition, the Mexican Navy has worked with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and other organizations to closely monitor the fishery, resulting in a 90 percent reduction in fishing in the zero-tolerance zone, the study said.
"The concrete blocks, along with enforcement within the ZTA, appear to be an effective means of preventing gill netting," the IUCN report said. "Based on this year's results, expanding the concept of concrete blocks and hooks to other areas where vaquitas are known to forage is an urgent priority."
It is equally important to find solutions for fishermen who need to find a way to make money. The non-governmental organization Pesca Alternativa de Baja California (Pesca ABC) is dedicated to finding such solutions by developing alternative fishing techniques without gillnets and helping fishermen create markets for their vaquita-friendly fish products.
For the past seven years, YAQU PACHA and the Nuremberg Zoo have been supporting various NGOs such as Vaquita CPR, Pesca ABC and Museo de la Ballena, who work tirelessly to protect the vaquita. So it is a first ray of hope for all of us, the first in decades, which is ultimately due to the perseverance of the many people working to protect the vaquita. It would be wrong to say that the vaquita is saved, we are far from that. Rather, it is important to take this news as an opportunity to continue working to protect the species.