They all live in the Gulf of California

Jun 9, 2010 13:29 GMT  ·  By
Only about 250 vaquitas are estimated to be left alive in the Gulf of California
   Only about 250 vaquitas are estimated to be left alive in the Gulf of California

One of the world's most critically endangered marine animal is the vaquita, a very rare porpoise that lives in a small portion of the Gulf of California, precisely where the Baja peninsula affixes itself to Mexico. This marine animal has been inching closer to extinction for many years, and the most recent count is not at all encouraging. According to conservationists and marine biologists, about 250 of the creatures remain, and there is little hope that the population will be able to bounce back.

The species, scientifically called Phocoena sinus, averages a length of about 1.5 meters, and lives in river and coastal areas. This exposes it to significant risk factors, including agricultural runoff intoxication, pollution, ship collisions, and over fishing. All of these things have each taken a considerable toll on the general vaquita populations, which are currently considered to be in great danger of following in the steps of Lipotes vexillifer. This was the Chinese Yangtze river dolphin, which has not been spotted since 2007, and which researchers presume has gone extinct.

“This information shows we don't have a lot of time to save the vaquita,” explains expert Timothy Ragen, who is the executive director of the Bethesda, Maryland-based Marine Mammal Commission (MMC). The organization provided partial funding for the investigation. The new conclusions are based on data collected via acoustical surveys back in 2008. It was determined through analysis of this information that less than 250 individuals remain. If the numbers are accurate, then this means that the general population has decreased by more than 50 percent in less than 10 years, when the last research of this type was conducted.

The new data were presented at this week's scientific conference of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which was held in Agadir, Morocco. This is the international body that is supposed to be in charge of protecting whales wherever they are, but which has thus far failed to take decisions based solely on scientific data, and has proven prone to political influences. The 2008 survey on the porpoises was conducted using the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research vessel Davis Starr Jordan, as well as the small Vaquita Express sailing boat. The latter's voyage was sponsored by the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans.

But the research also yielded some new conclusions as well. It would appear that the decline, although dramatic in itself, is significantly less pronounced that researchers first estimated. “We are encouraged, as it is not as bad as we feared. But clearly, the number is not good news,” explains Southwest Fisheries Science Center marine biologist Tim Gerrodette. He was the leader of the 1997 expedition that estimated the total number of vaquitas to be around 567, Nature News reports.