Species/Vaquita
Vaquita
Phocoena sinus
CRCritically Endangered
- Range
- Upper Gulf of California, Mexico
- Population
- At least 7–10 seen in the 2025 refuge survey, including calves
- Trend
- unknown
- Last assessed
- 2022
The world’s smallest porpoise, and the most endangered marine mammal. 2025 surveys found animals still reproducing inside the Zero Tolerance Area — the collapse slowed, it did not reverse.
Vaquitas die in nets set for a fish bladder sold as a tonic. This is not a mystery. It is a market, and it is still open.
Threats
- Illegal totoaba gillnets
- Bycatch
- Insufficient refuge enforcement
What you can do
- Follow the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group
They publish the only regular public census.
Support gillnet-free fishing in the Upper Gulf
Survival odds jump above 90% if bycatch is actually eliminated.