February 6, 2017 — The vaquita, the world’s smallest porpoise, lives only in Mexico’s Gulf of California and is critically endangered, due to illegal fishing. Now, the Center for Biological Diversity plans legal action against the US government for its failure to sanction Mexico for not stopping the poaching of vaquitas.
The vaquita was first identified by scientists in the 1950s, so it is a relatively “new” species, says Sarah Uhlemann, the International Program Director for the Center for Biological Diversity. Scientists believe that even since its first identification, their numbers have been declining.
“Vaquita are the rarest porpoise in the world,” Uhlemann says. “They are only about five feet long. They’re evasive. They’re very shy. They swim away from boats. They consume a lot of fish. They are an integral part of a very amazing ecosystem. Jacques Cousteau called this habitat, the Gulf of California, ‘the aquarium of the world,’ and this is one of the key species in the aquarium.”