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 […]
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Mexican Government are tentatively celebrating the initial success of their enhanced partnership to protect the critically endangered vaquita. The long-term effectiveness of the program is still to be seen. What Is the Vaquita and Why Is It Endangered? The vaquita is an endemic species that exists only in a […]
The critically endangered vaquita porpoise — a beautiful dolphin about four to five feet long with dark circles around its eyes and an upturned, seemingly smiling mouth — is the smallest marine mammal in the world. They’re also on the brink of extinction with an estimated fewer than ten vaquitas left in their small range […]
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 […]
By John R. Platt and Tara Lohan Let’s be honest, 2019 was a rough year for the planet. Despite some environmental victories along the way, we saw the extinction crisis deepen, efforts to curtail climate change blocked at almost every turn, and the oceans continue to warm. We also heard new revelations about ways that […]
By John R. Platt When it comes to solving problems related to wildlife trade, there are an awful lot of “sticky widgets.” That’s what Eli Weiss, founder of the WildiZe Foundation and host of the “Our Wild World” podcast, calls some of the most pressing issues related to legal and illegal wildlife trafficking. These big […]
Scientists announced Thursday that only 10 vaquita porpoises likely remain in the world and that the animal’s extinction is virtually assured without bold and immediate action. The vaquita, the world’s smallest and most endangered cetacean, is found only in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California. The release of the new vaquita estimate comes just two days […]
My organization, the Elephant Action League (EAL), spent 14 months investigating and infiltrating the illicit totoaba swim bladder supply chain, from Baja California in Mexico to Southern China. We released a public report on what we called Operation Fake Gold in July 2018. Since then, we have continued to submit intelligence to Mexican, U.S. and […]
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says that its vessel, the M/V Farley Mowat, was ambushed on Jan. 31 by a group of poachers posing as fishermen while the ship was conducting maritime conservation patrols in a vaquita refuge in Mexico’s Gulf of California. It’s the second such attack in less than a month. The conservation […]
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