Mexico bid to save world's smallest vaquita porpoise

Mexican authorities and scientists are trying to save the world's smallest porpoise by capturing illegal "ghost" fishing nets.

They have managed to remove more than 100 dumped or lost nets left floating in the sea from October to December.

Local fishermen and conservationists helped to trawl 11,814km (7,340 miles) in the Gulf of California, the only area where the vaquita porpoise live.

Its population is estimated to be down to about 60 individuals.

Conservationists say they fear the porpoise will be extinct by 2022.

The main threat to the porpoise are the nets used to illegally catch fish known as the totoaba which is hunted for its swim bladder - fetching tens of thousands of dollars on the black market in China.

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Conservationists debate how to save Mexico's vaquita porpoise

Report recommends breeding the endangered species – which is the world’s smallest porpoise – in captivity, but some experts disagree

Associated Press in Mexico City

Monday 6 June 201623.13 BST Last modified on Tuesday 7 June 201614.47 BST

Mexican authorities should consider trapping some of the few remaining vaquita marina porpoises in order to attempt breeding the endangered species in captivity or semi-captivity, conservationists have recommended.

The vaquita is the world’s smallest porpoise, and only around 60 remain in the Gulf of California, the only place in the world they live.

The report by the International Commission for the Recovery of the Vaquita says offsite – “ex situ” – conservation should be considered. That could mean putting the dolphins in breeding pens, either in coastal waters or elsewhere.

Some experts oppose that, saying efforts to capture them could kill the few vaquitas left. The commission, known by its initials in Spanish as Cirva, acknowledged the risks involved. Nobody has ever kept vaquitas in captivity, much less bred them.

“While recognizing the risks and complexities of such an approach, Cirva concluded that fieldwork to determine the feasibility of ex situ conservation actions for the vaquita is warranted,” according to the report. “Cirva agreed unanimously that capture of all remaining vaquitas is not a viable conservation strategy for vaquitas, which must, first and foremost, be protected in their wild habitat.”

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