gillnets

First-Ever Extinction Alert Issued for Vaquita Porpoise

First-Ever Extinction Alert Issued for Vaquita Porpoise

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has issued its first ever Extinction Alert statement for the endangered vaquita porpoise, whose population is estimated to have shrunk to 10 individuals. The IWC says that a 100 percent ban on gillnets is immediately necessary to stop the extinction of the world’s smallest marine mammal. “Recent studies show there […]

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    Mexico Opens Up the Only Remaining Vaquita Habitat to Fishing

    Mexico Opens Up the Only Remaining Vaquita Habitat to Fishing

    By Elizabeth Claire Alberts The Mexican government will no longer protect the habitat of the critically endangered vaquita in the Upper Gulf of California, but has opened the area up to fishing, according to a news report. It’s estimated that there are only about nine vaquitas left in the world.The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), a bathtub-sized […]

    Ocean Plastic: What You Need to Know

    Ocean Plastic: What You Need to Know

    Ocean bound plastic is plastic waste that is headed toward our oceans. The term “ocean bound plastic” was popularized by Jenna Jambeck, Ph.D., a professor from the University of Georgia. In 2015, she and a team of researchers estimated the amount of plastic waste entering the ocean from land.

    Indian Ocean Dolphin Population Plummets Due to Commercial Fishing

    Indian Ocean Dolphin Population Plummets Due to Commercial Fishing

    Fishing operations in the Indian Ocean have decimated dolphin populations over the last 70 years, according to a new study published in the journal Endangered Species Research. The fishing operations that have had dolphins swept up as bycatch have meant that nearly 4 million dolphins have died since 1950 and the population of dolphins in […]