Why the Vaquita Is Facing Extinction—and What We Must Do to Stop It

There are over 150,000 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Of those species, over 42,000 are threatened with extinction. On that list are 17,903 marine species that show population declines annually, with over 1,550 on the path to no longer existing. One marine animal is expected to become extinct within the next few years if no action is taken. However, many conservationists, researchers, and scientists believe not enough is being done to stop this from happening. This means that despite the vaquita fighting for their lives over the last several decades, their struggle may have been for naught if serious changes are not made now.

Tracking Population Loss

The vaquita was virtually an unknown species until 1958. The small porpoise, also known as the “panda of the sea” due to its distinctive black coloration around its eyes, has always been very elusive. Because the vaquita only lives in a small portion of the Gulf of California in the Sea of Cortez and is very elusive, the species was virtually unknown to people outside the area.

There is no telling how many vaquitas were living in the Gulf of California in 1958. Some estimates put the population at a few hundred. What is known is that, at that time, they were not an endangered species. By 1978, the four to five-foot-long porpoise, weighing around 100 pounds, was placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list as a vulnerable species. However, since that time, the population has only continued to decline to the point where a 2024 study states that a choice needs to be made between saving the vaquita or sustainable fishing in the Gulf of California. Both cannot survive.

Over the last several years, the vaquita population has suffered substantial losses. Those losses include:

The population is steadily declining year after year. It was predicted that the vaquita would be extinct by 2021. Somehow, this has not yet happened. However, it is just a matter of a few years before the vaquita completely vanishes from the planet, due to the use of gillnets that riddle the waters they call home.

Why Gillnets Are the Vaquita’s Greatest Threat

Gillnets in the Gulf of California are not intended to capture vaquitas. Instead, they are used to catch another endangered species, the totoaba fish. While it is illegal to use gillnets in the Gulf of California and fish for totoaba, the nets are still present, and the fish are being caught because there is a substantial payoff for the totoaba swim bladders on the black market. The market is so considerable that a totoaba swim bladder can go for as high as $80,000 per kilogram.

In 2023, the International Whaling Commission issued its first-ever Extinction Alert. The alert was issued after decades of warnings that the use of gillnets in the Gulf of Mexico—especially in the Sea of Cortez, where the vaquita lives—had led to a significant decline in the porpoise population.

“The decline of the vaquita has continued despite a very clear understanding of both the cause (bycatch in gillnets) and the solution (replacement of gillnets with safe alternatives in the vaquita habitat),” the Extinction Alert reads.

The vaquita is only found in the northernmost part of the Gulf of California, Mexico. Numbers have fallen from a population of approximately 570 in 1997 to around 10 animals in 2018. This number appears to have remained fairly constant since 2018, probably due to increased enforcement of gillnet bans and removal of nets. But this effort needs to be 100% effective to start reversing the decline and bringing the vaquita back from the brink of extinction.”

The Extinction Alert continues, saying, “An illegal, international trade in totoaba fish, found in the same waters, has complicated efforts to end gillnet fishing.”

“The Committee points to lessons that can be learned, particularly the need for early and multi-disciplinary actions that look beyond the immediate conservation concern to address wider factors, but today their focus is the clear, single action needed now to save the vaquita.”

According to the IWC, the only way to save the vaquita is to remove all gillnets from the Gulf of California.

The Vaquita’s Only Chance at Survival

While the news about the future of the vaquita is grim, there is a sliver of hope that the species can survive. All that needs to be done is to stop the use of gillnets in the Gulf of California. According to a 2022 study published in Science, the remaining vaquita exhibit considerable genetic diversity. This was discovered after tissue samples collected between 1985 and 2017 were studied. It showed that there was no risk of inbreeding within the population, despite the fact that so few vaquitas remain. The findings even surprised scientists. According to Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, one of the study’s co-authors and a conservation biologist at the National Commission of Protected Areas in Mexico, the fact that so much information could be gleaned from the samples was astounding.

“Who would have thought that several decades later these same samples could tell us so much,” says Rojas-Bracho, in a statement to CNN. “Genomics gives us clues into the species’ past but also lets us peer into the future.”

Another of the study’s co-authors, Jacqueline Robinson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, believes that if the vaquita were just given an opportunity to live in the Sea of Cortez without gillnets, the hearty species would recover.

“If we can allow these animals to survive, they can do the rest,” Robinson explains in the statement. “Genetically, they still have the diversity that let them thrive for hundreds of thousands of years, until the gillnets arrived.”

This is the only way to save the vaquita, as other methods used to save endangered species have failed with this small porpoise population.

Why the Vaquita Cannot Live in Captivity

For some endangered species, the only way to ensure the population could survive was to bring some members of the species into captivity. This was the thought in 2017 when VaquitaCPR headed to Mexico with a team of veterinarians, researchers, and conservationists to capture half of the vaquita population in hopes they would thrive outside of their native Gulf of California waters.

The team working with VaquitaCPR successfully captured two female vaquitas. The hope was that the vaquitas would adapt to captivity as dolphins do and thrive in a safer environment. But within a very short time of being placed in sea pens in the Sea of Cortez, the two were “showing signs of stress.” Consequently, the vaquitas were released. After being released, the stress proved to be too great for one of the females. She passed away. The operation revealed a significant need to conserve the vaquita population in the Sea of Cortez. Since the species cannot rebound in captivity, saving them in their native waters is the only way to ensure a future for the vaquita.

Efforts to Save the Vaquita

Efforts are being made to save the vaquita. This has been a joint effort between Mexico, the United States, and China. The focus of these countries is not only to protect the vaquita, but also to stop the illegal trade of the totoaba fish. Not only is the fish also endangered, but the gillnets used to catch the totoaba have caused the vaquita population to dramatically decline since the 1970s. To help increase or at least maintain the vaquita population, the Mexican government banned gillnet fishing in 2017. This ban followed the government’s attempt to pay fishermen to stop fishing in the Gulf of California. However, the payment plan only pushed more people who rely on fishing to resort to illegal practices, and consequently ended in 2018.

In 2020, a Zero Tolerance Area was delineated within the habitat of the vaquita. Additionally, in 2023, concrete blocks with rebar on the ends were installed in the ZTA. This was done to prevent any fishing nets, specifically gillnets, from entering areas where vaquitas had been spotted, in order to help the population survive. In 2023, Mexico initiated workshops to educate local fishermen on the need to end the use of gillnets and why they were illegal. Additionally, 730 random checkpoints were established to inspect boats returning from the Sea of Cortez and the Gulf of California for illegal fishing, as well as to check warehouses, collection centers, freezers, fish markets, and restaurants. This puts more pressure on those who fish illegally to think twice before doing so, as the chances of getting caught are greater.

Finally, the Mexican government has destroyed over 23 miles of gillnets and other illegal fishing gear in the Gulf of California to save both the vaquita and the totoaba. The United States has announced a ban on all seafood imports from the Sea of Cortez, also known as the Upper Gulf of California, which is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026. China has also stepped up and made the trade of the totoaba swim bladder illegal. Although underground trading still occurs, it is happening less frequently. With public education about not only how the totoaba is an endangered species, but also how illegal fishing is affecting the vaquita, fewer swim bladders are being imported into China. However, the trade has not completely stopped, meaning the vaquita is still at risk of extinction.

What You Can Do to Help

Endangered species all over the world are fighting for their survival. Perhaps no more than the vaquita, though. With only six to 10 individuals remaining in the world, this species is at a critical crossroads. The vaquita has been on a doomsday list since 2021 and is now living on borrowed time. Many want to get involved but never do, believing their voice will not make a difference. However, this could not be further from the truth. There are many things people can do to help the vaquita and hopefully turn this tragic tale into a story of redemption. For those who want to get involved and help save the vaquita, several actions can be taken. Those actions include:

• Spread the word about how the vaquita is on the brink of going extinct

• Join over 321,000 people who have signed the petition asking the Mexican government to work harder to save the vaquita

• Donate to reputable wildlife organizations that use the funds to remove gillnets from the Gulf of California

• Only purchase sustainable seafood that is not caught using gillnets

• Do not fish in the Gulf of California; choose other bodies of water in Mexico for fishing vacations instead

• Boycott Mexican shrimp to help pressure the Mexican government to increase crackdowns on fishing in the Gulf of California and the Sea of Cortez

• Write to the Mexican government to inform President Claudia Sheinbaum why efforts to save the vaquita need to be increased

One voice may not seem like it will make a difference. However, if enough people get involved, the message will be heard by lawmakers and those with the power to implement change. If nothing is done to save the vaquita, this porpoise—known to science for less than seven decades—will vanish without a trace, all due to the greed of those who value black market profits above the survival of a species.

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