The vaquita porpoise, one of the world’s most endangered animals, could become extinct within a year if fishing nets continue being used illegally, a university in Scotland warned on Wednesday.
Numbers of the vaquita, which only lives in the upper Gulf o fCalifornia in Mexico, may now have dropped to less than 10, according to research by the University of St Andrews published in Royal Society Open Science.
The dolphin-like vaquita (“small cow” in Spanish) is the world’s smallest cetacean, with females measuring 140 centimetres and males135 centimetres on average. The vaquitas, which are grey or white,have a tall dorsal fin and long flippers.
The global vaquita population was estimated at 30 in 2016, the University of St Andrews said.
Gillnets - nets that hang vertically and catch fish by their gills -kill vaquitas as a by catch.
The nets are used by fishermen to capture totoabas, another endangered species. The swim bladder of the totoaba is believed bythe Chinese to have medicinal and aphrodisiac properties.
Totoaba fishing is illegal and Mexico has also banned the gillnet,but unlawful fishing has nevertheless continued.
“The ongoing presence of illegal gillnets despite the emergency ban continues to drive the vaquita towards extinction. Immediate management action is required if the species is to be saved,” said Professor Len Thomas, director of the university’s Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling.
Studying recordings of echolocation clicks by the vaquita, which are made via a large grid of acoustic sensors spread out over the water the mammals inhabit, allowed researchers to estimate the decline of the species.
Numbers of the vaquita declined by nearly 99 per cent since the current monitoring study began in 2011, and by almost 50 per cent annually since 2016.
The vaquita’s long reproduction cycle means it is unable to multiply quickly. — dpa
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
