The vaquita is the most endangered whale, dolphin, or porpoise in the world. The remnant population of less than 100 animals lives in a tiny area in the northern Gulf of California. The Government of Mexico is working to conserve the species, but it is threatened by an illegal fishery for the totoaba, an endangered sea bass that is also endemic to the Gulf of California. Totoaba swim bladders are dried and smuggled from Mexico to China, sometimes through the United States. You can read more about the vaquita on the web site of the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group and listen to an interview with Andy, who serves on the International Recovery Team for the vaquita, here on NPR’s Living on Earth. Time is running out for this species…
