Watch the documentary Vaquita – Last Chance for the Desert Porpoise – now online!
The Vaquita is the world’s smallest porpoise. They live only in the northern reaches of the Gulf of California, Mexico.
Scientists estimate that 250 animals remain. This shy, elusive porpoise is disappearing due to accidental entanglement in fishing nets set for shrimp. Following the loss of the Baiji (Yangtze River Dolphin) in 2006, the Vaquita is the next marine mammal in line for extinction.
In October 2008, I traveled to San Felipe, Mexico to follow an international scientific expedition to document and monitor the last remaining Vaquita.
Photos and video taken under permit (Oficio No. DR/847/08 & No. DR/488/08 ) from the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP/Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y
Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT), within a natural protected area subject to special management and decreed as such by the Mexican Government. This work was made possible thanks to the collaboration and support of the Coordinator of Marine Mammal Research and Conservation at the Instiuto Nacional de Ecología (INE) in Mexico.
The Expedition Vaquita multimedia project was funded by a grant from The Ocean Foundation.
7 comments ↓
[...] thanks to a dedicated team of multi-national scientists, media experts, and NGOs the world can finally meet the living, breathing, swimming, vaquita. Last month, on a calm, [...]
i wish that they can save the vaquita. if i can do something to save the vaquita send me a mail. i hope we can save it
Kudos to the research team! I can only imagine how dedicated you all must be and how frustrating your work can be at times. On behalf of the vaquita, thank you!
I’ve written a children’s book about the vaquita. I’d like to know more about your project.
Please contact me
[...] TakePart: Vaquita Article Vaquita.org Viva Vaquita! NOAA Fisheries: Vaquitas Save the Vaquita Whale Trackers: The Search for the Desert Porpoise [...]
[...] de todo, y gracias a un dedicado grupo de científicos multinacionales, expertos de los medios de comunicación y ONGs, el mundo puede finalmente conocer a una vaquita viva, respirando y nadando libremente. El mes [...]
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