The
critically endangered vaquita, the world's smallest porpoise and
native to Mexico's Gulf of California, has been imperiled by
illegal gill net fishing for an endangered fish called the
totoaba, whose bladder is highly valued in Asia.
Mexico's government has been under pressure to crack down on the
practice.
The IWC's scientific committee highlighted in a report an 83%
drop in the vaquita's population between 2015 and 2018 to only
nine or 10 of the marine animals in total.
The alert, the IWC said, stems from its belief that a new
mechanism is needed "to voice extinction concerns for an
increasing range of cetacean species and populations."
The institution, however, said it believes that a full
enforcement of the ban on gill netting in the animal's core
habitat could give the vaquita "a chance of recovery."
"The extinction of the vaquita is inevitable unless 100% of
gillnets are substituted immediately with alternative fishing
gears that protect the vaquita and the livelihoods of fishers,"
it said.
In May, the U.S. interior secretary declared that Mexico has
failed to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the
vaquita, but a trade embargo was ruled out by the U.S.
government in July.
(Reporting by Carolina Pulice in Mexico City; Editing by Matthew
Lewis)
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