Video uploaded with courtesy from The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
The Vaquita
Vaquita, the world’s most rarest marine mammal and also the worlds's smallest cetacean, is on the edge of extinction. Found within the Mexico's Gulf of California is now critically endangered to the blink of extinction. There are about 60 of the remaining but their population is decreasing rapidly.
The vaquita has a large dark ring around its eyes and dark patches on its lips that form a thin line from the mouth to the pectoral fins. Its dorsal surface is dark gray, sides pale gray and ventral surface white with long, light gray markings. Newborn vaquita have darker coloration and a wide gray fringe of color that runs from the head to the dorsal flukes, passing through the dorsal and pectoral fins. They are most often found close to shore in the Gulf's shallow waters, although they quickly swim away if a boat approaches.
The Totoaba
Also found in the Gulf of California in Mexico is the totoaba. The totoaba or totuava is a marine fish, the largest member of the drum family Sciaenidae that is endemic to the Gulf of California in Mexico.
The totoaba can grow up to two metres in length and 100 kg in weight. Their diet consists of finned fish and crustaceans. Individuals may live up to fifteen years, but sexual maturity is usually not reached until the fish are six or seven years old. As totoaba spawn only once a year, population growth is slow, with a minimum population doubling time of four-and-a-half to fifteen years.[3] The totoaba spawn in the Colorado River delta, which also serves as a nursery for the young fish.
Totoaba
The totoaba is in high demand for its swim bladder, a gas-filled internal organ that allows the fish to ascend and descend by cintrolling its' bouyancy.
totoaba swim bladder
The swim bladder is highly prized as a traditional health food in China and is in to very high demand. A single swim bladder can be sold in the black market for thousands of dollars.
They are usually dried in Mexico before being smuggled out to China through the United States.
The Marine Mammal Center
The Marine Mammal Center is committed to saving and preventing the extinction of marine lives and to that end is working on a number of initiatives. These include increasing awareness about the vaquita and totoaba and the threats to their survival, supporting development of alternative fishing gear, and providing administrative support for initiatives such as population surveys. The Center is also providing technical support and training in the investigation of mortality events in the Gulf of California, and veterinary staff recently performed post mortem examinations on two vaquitas found dead in March 2016, confirming gill net entanglement as cause of their deaths.
You can make a difference in saving endangered species by donating to the Marine Mammal Center.
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