The Vaquita Is the Most Endangered Marine Mammal

The vaquita is a shy member of the porpoise family, and NOAA Fisheries calls it the most endangered of the world’s marine mammals. It is small, at about 5 feet long, one of the smallest members of the whale, dolphin and porpoise family. Its home is tiny too. The vaquita has the smallest range of any whale, dolphin or porpoise, and lives only in the northern part of the Gulf of California in Mexico. Its decline is tied to fishing. NOAA Fisheries explains that the drop in vaquita numbers is related to the totoaba, a large fish that also lives only in the Gulf of California and is fished illegally. Mexico has responded with gillnet bans, including a 2017 agreement that permanently banned most gillnets within the vaquita’s range. Females are thought to give birth to a single calf every other year.