The tiny vaquita, the smallest known porpoise, which is found only in the waters of Mexico's Sea of Cortez, is now on the edge of extinction. Go humans- we're #1!
"A drop in vaquita numbers to as few as 150 from around 600 at the start of the decade could see the famously shy animal go the same way as the Chinese river dolphin, which was declared all but extinct in 2006.
The drop in numbers suggests they are getting tangled in fishing nets at a faster rate than they can reproduce.
Female vaquitas only produce young once every two years and the genetic pool is now too small for effective breeding.
Meanwhile mesh gillnets used to catch sea bass, mackerel, shrimp and sharks also trap and drown air-breathing vaquitas, whose name is Spanish for "little cow."
The government is trying to persuade some fishermen to ditch their nets and start conservation-based tourism businesses, like boat trips to see marine life.
But one person in four in the area lives off fishing..." LINK
No comments:
Post a Comment