Far-ranging fin whales find year-round residence in Gulf of California

Date:  January 10, 2019

Source:  Oregon State University

Researchers from Mexico and the United States have concluded that a population of fin whales in the rich Gulf of California ecosystem may live there year-round -- an unusual circumstance for a whale species known to migrate across ocean basins.

What makes the discovery even more unusual, researchers note, is that they identified the pattern of movement of the fin whales, which are the second largest whale species in the world, using a satellite tracking data set from 2001. Oregon State University professor Bruce Mate, director of OSU's Marine Mammal Institute and co-author on the study, tagged 11 whales that year and was able to record the movements of nine of them for up to a year.

Since then, the OSU scientists have worked with colleagues in Mexico to further study the whales, in the process identifying via a 2011 photograph at least one female fin whale from the 2001 study -- this time, with a calf, indicating the whales may even stay in the region for breeding and calving.

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Mexico takes ‘unprecedented’ action to save vaquita

by Mongabay.com on 15 October 2017

A team of marine mammal experts have begun a search for the last vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) in a last-ditch effort to capture the remaining 30 porpoises until they’re no longer threatened by gillnets.

VaquitaCPR seeks to house the vaquita in sea pens and includes plans for long-term care and breeding.

Though seen as ‘risky’ and ‘bold,’ many conservation organizations agree that finding the animals before it’s too late is the only option.

A team of marine mammal experts is searching for the last vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) in the Gulf of California. They’ve gathered in northern Mexico, at the invitation of the government of Mexico, to make a last-ditch effort to capture and keep the remaining 30 porpoises safe until they’re no longer threatened by the gillnets that have decimated their numbers in recent years.

“We are watching this precious native species disappear before our eyes,” said Rafael Pacchiano, Mexico’s minister of the environment and natural resources, in a January 2017 statement from the National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF). “This critical rescue effort is a priority for the Mexican government and we are dedicated to providing the necessary resources in order to give the plan its best chance of success.”

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Chinese appetite for totoaba fish bladder kills off rare porpoise

Only 30 vaquita are left in Gulf of California as pirate fishermen net them when fishing for highly valued totoaba maws

Damian Carrington Environment editor

Tuesday 16 May 2017 11.05 BST First published on Tuesday 16 May 2017 06.01 BST 

The world’s rarest marine mammal is on the verge of extinction due to the continuing illegal demand in China for a valuable fish organ, an undercover investigation has revealed.

There are no more than 30 vaquita – a five-foot porpoise – left in the northern Gulf of California today and they could be extinct within months, conservationists have warned. The population has been all but eradicated by pirate fishermen catching the large totoaba fish and killing the vaquita in the process.

The totoaba, which is itself highly endangered, is caught for its swim bladders which are smuggled to China for sale on the black market. Undercover investigators found the swim bladders, called maws, for sale in Shantou in Guandong province, at an average price of $20,000 per kilogram. The cost has led to the maws being dubbed “aquatic cocaine”.

 “The demand is still strong and stable – it is not going down – and prices are climbing again,” said Andrea Crosta, from the Elephant Action League, an intelligence-led group now targeting all wildlife crime and which conducted the totoaba investigation. 

“Because it is very expensive, it remains a product for wealthy people,” he said. “The law enforcement is very weak because it is not top priority and probably because it involves rich and powerful people.”

One trader in the illegal maws told the investigators: “When the government comes to check, they call and inform us earlier and we will hide them when they come.” However, the trade is less open than it once was. Chinese buyers of maws prefer those from domestic waters but these are exceedingly rare now, having been intensively fished for many decades.

The demand for totoaba maws is driven by its use as a business gift, investment or wedding dowry, as well as its supposed medicinal benefits, the investigation found.

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Dig it! Two new shrimp species found in burrows at the bottom of the Gulf of California

May 12, 2017

Although the Santa María-La Reforma lagoon complex in the Gulf of California is one of the most important areas for shrimp fishery, little is known about the crustacean species that live in the burrows dug in the bottom.

In addition to presenting two species new to science, researchers Drs. José Salgado-Barragán, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Manuel Ayón-Parente and Pilar Zamora-Tavares, both affiliated with Universidad de Guadalajara, México collaborated to build on the knowledge of small shrimp species living there. The study is published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

Over the span of about two years - between 2013 and 2015, the scientists conducted series of surveys of the bottom-dwelling crustaceans in Bahía Santa María-La Reforma lagoon, located in the southwest Gulf of California. Following a thorough examination of the collected specimens, they recorded five shrimp species of three genera, inhabiting burrows dug into either mud, sand, or sandy-mud. Two of these species turned out to be previously unknown.

Read more at:

World's rarest cetacean threatened by illegal gillnets

2 hours ago by Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times

The world's rarest cetacean could disappear in less than four years unless immediate action is taken by the Mexican government to protect it from entanglement in gillnets deployed illegally in its Gulf of California refuge, federal officials said Tuesday.

Fewer than 100 critically endangered vaquitas remain in the wild, and U.S. officials and conservationists are urging Mexico to crack down on shrimp gillnetters operating within the 488-square-mile refuge created to protect the 5-foot-long, porpoise-like species.

Vaquitas are also being decimated by illegal trade of an endangered fish known as totoaba, which is supplying a demand for swim bladders in China.

"Time is running out," Rebecca Lent, executive director of the Marine Mammal Commission, an independent U.S. agency, said in an interview. "The government of Mexico has made an effort, but it has been ineffective. What we need is a firm commitment by Mexico to stop the gillnetting. Now."

Read more at: 

Map of Endangered Shark's Wanderings Could Aid Conservation

by Laura Geggel, Staff Writer | November 26, 2014 07:10am ET

A young hammerhead's 10.5-month journey through the Gulf of California reveals that the endangered shark often swam outside of protected areas, according to a new research that suggests key areas where protection could help the species survive.

After hitching rides from local fishermen, researchers caught and tagged three young scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) in the Gulf of California, which separates the Baja California peninsula from mainland Mexico.

Maps of the sharks' wanderings could help conservationists develop plans to protect the vulnerable species.

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Bighorn sheep went extinct on desert island in Gulf of California

Date:

March 19, 2014

Source:

University of California - Riverside

Summary:

Using ancient DNA analysis and other techniques, a research team led by conservation biologists has determined that bighorn sheep, so named for their massive spiral horns, became extinct on Tiburon Island, a large and mostly uninhabited island just off Sonora, Mexico, in the Gulf of California, sometime in the last millennium -- specifically between the 6th and 19th centuries.

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Happy Ending To Tale Of Humpback Whale

A group of whale watchers in the Gulf of California have become conservation heroes.


The three men rescued a humpback whale which had become entangled in a discarded fishing net.


When they first saw the creature she was floating motionless on the surface and they feared she was dead.

But she then made a loud, groaning-like sound and when they got closer it became clear what was wrong.


They immediately set about freeing the whale - which repaid their efforts in the most spectacular fashion.

Photos and video here:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Happy-Ending-To-Tale-Of-Humpback-Whale-Caught-In-A-Fishing-Net-In-Gulf-Of-California/Article/201107316031847?lpos=Strange_News_Second_Strange_News__Article_Teaser_Region__3&lid=ARTICLE_16031847_Happy_Ending_To_Tale_Of_Humpback_Whale_Caught_In_A_Fishing_Net_In_Gulf_Of_California