Note: This abstract will be presented by Shawn Johnson, also from The Marine Mammal Center.

Abstract

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the world's smallest and most endangered cetacean, endemic to the Gulf of Mexico. It is also one of the youngest, first described in 1958. In 2014, the population estimate from an acoustic buoy array (animals are hard to see due to their rarity) was 97 animals, and declining at 18% per year. Health evaluations of stranded carcasses indicate animals are in good nutritional condition, free of pathogens known to cause marine mammal mortality events, and have low tissue levels of organochlorines. Most stranded animals show evidence of fisheries interactions, and gillnet fishing is the largest threat to remaining vaquitas.¹ Within the vaquita's range, there are both legal gillnet fisheries for shrimp, mostly exported to southern California, and an illegal gillnet fishery for totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) that supplies swim bladders to the Chinese market. Although totoaba were overfished and listed as critically endangered by the IUCN in 1996, swim bladders can fetch U.S. $8,000 per kg, so this illegal fishery has increased dramatically in recent years. To prevent further mortality of vaquita, all gill nets must be removed from the vaquita's range.²

There are two main programs in Mexico that address vaquita recovery.³ The International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA), from the Mexican Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries was established in 1996, and in 2004–5 established a Refuge Area for the Protection of the Vaquita that was largely ineffective because gillnet bans in the refuge were not enforced. The Conservation Action Programs (PACE)-Vaquita was established in 2007 at the Mexican President's direction, and intends to carry out CIRVA's recommendations. PACE-Vaquita prioritizes enforcement of gillnet bans, buying out fishermen in the area, providing alternative sources of income for fishermen, and introducing alternative fishing measures, such as small trawls for shrimp. According to IUCN4, outcomes include withdrawal of 230 artisanal fishing boats from fishing activities, and participation of 105 artisanal fishing boats in the fishing gear replacement program. Between these two programs, the Mexican government has invested over $26 million to date. At the time of this abstract's submission, the Government of Mexico has proposed to ban all gill nets from the vaquita range from February 1 2014. Despite these efforts, the vaquita population decline continues. If there is no change in approach, the vaquita will be extinct by 2018. The IAAAM community can participate in this change and help prevent the vaquita from following the fate of the Baiji.

Literature Cited

1.  Brownell RL. The vaquita: can it survive? Endangered Species Bulletin. 1988;12:2.

2.  Jaramillo-Legorreta A, Rojas-Bracho L, Brownell RL, Read A, Reeves RR, Ralls K, Taylor BL. Saving the vaquita: immediate action, not more data. U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Paper 81. 2007. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usdeptcommercepub/81

3.  Rojas-Bracho L, Reeves RR, Jaramillo-Legorreta A. Conservation of the vaquita. Mammal Review. 2006;36:3, 179–216.

4.  Cetacean Specialist Group, IUCN www.iucn-csg.org