Can the Vaquita porpoise be saved ?

An idea that probably is stupid and if not, probably has been tought and rejected by true experts in this but...
How about circling large portion of sea (or a sea pen, or even creating an artificial one in mainland, by side of the coast), having them vigilated 24 hours by a large team, and then, trying to attract the remaining vaquitas to it, instead capture them and kill them by stress? The vaquitas would swim naturally to the refuges and would not die of stress as the pregnant female did. Would be very difficult to find a convincing bait, but we should try anything for save the species before let them die out... Courtship sounds maybe? Or trained Army dolphins that lead them to the place?

If we could find a way to get all the vaquitas in a refuge, then the fishing nets would be not a problem for them anymore, allowing the population to recover... Experts in husbandry of porpoises from aquariums that bred them in the past and present, would be called for working here... I know all this sound too much idealist and optimistic, but... we cannot just wait until none left!

 

This is at least not the public position of Fjord and Baelt, who have bred them several times (only one survived infancy and still died very prematurely) and say in their talks they are still hopeful of future success.

 

At least the porpoises in the Netherlands are rescued ones that can't be reintroduced. By not breeding them there's enough space available to house potential new animals.

 

The countdown to extinction continues:Scientists estimate just 10 vaquita porpoises remain, urge gillnet ban

 

"Old" article about the capture-attemp in 2017 :

https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2019/38/n038p011.pdf

 

6 Vaquitas recently observed give some hope for the survaival of the species ! :

Scientists spot six near-extinct vaquita marinas

 

'Scientists estimate there may be as few as 30 vaquitas left.' Isn't the estimate still <20?

 

Still a little hope ?

Scientists spot critically endangered vaquita porpoises with babies

 

Not sure if this has been posted, but here is a book on the subject: Vaquita

 

Hey, it looks like the ebook is available for free right now, both on this site and on Amazon! I already have digital copies (I got it in Spanish too) but if anyone reading this doesn't have it, it's a good time to get it!

 

Así se escucha la vaquita marina, lograron grabarla
Yes, the first recording of a vaquita Is here. There still are vaquitas . But oNe diéd in a net earlier this year
La tragedia de una vaquita marina: quedó atrapada e inmóvil en una red para totoaba
all of this información is in spanish, amigos.
The current estimate is that there are about 17 to 10 vaquitas left.

 

A little hope ? :

Vaquita Genome Offers Hope for Species' Survival | Science | Smithsonian Magazine

 

Growing conflict in San Felipe, Baja California between local fishermen and conservationists removing fishing nets to protect the vaquita. This unfortunate situation is likely to get only worse.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...c0c2d8-4c8f-11eb-97b6-4eb9f72ff46b_story.html

 

It is pretty ridiculous how the species is going extinct without anything really being done.
Baja California is a very tense area from what I know, the gillban will never see the light of day and even with a ban there would still be cases here and there.

Is there really a solution or is this a dead end ?

 

Piden que Sea Shepherd permanezca en hábitat de vaquita marina
Enviromental groups and national intellectuals ask that Sea Shepard remain in San Felipe, Baja California to protect the vaquita, after local politicians have requested that Sea Shepherd be expelled from Mexico after a fishermen died during a struggle with the conservationists and their vessel. Remember that the members of the Sea Shepard crew are U.S. citizens. Artículo en español.

 

What is your personal opinion on this estimado @carlos55 ?

 

Sea Shepard must stay, because they are the only ones who are removing the fishing nets that affect the vaquita. The current Mexican government does not really support programs for protecting the vaquita , it is not a priority for this administration, sadly. However the gringos of the Sea Shepard badly need advice and help in dealing with the local population who simply sees them as foreigners who restrict there livelihood. Maybe the local universities could help on this matter. This must be done quickly because there are so few vaquita porpoises left and the situation is terrible.

 

Interesting perspective, thank you for sharing, and one that I agree with.

This is almost always a problem in conservation when it comes to foreigners / "gringos" and local communities (whether the foreigners / "gringos" are from different countries or from the same country but a different region like the Mexican "Chilango" or the Brazilian "Paulista") and it is a very very hard dynamic to counter.

I think you are right that if Sea sheperd are to stay that they must attempt to engage in dialogue with the local communities and avoid the conflict becoming more entrenched but sadly I sincerely doubt that this will be possible now with this death of the fisherman.

I do think that this death was the worst possible outcome for sea shepherd, I dont envy the position that they find themselves in and I'm not particularly a fan of theirs or their heavy handed tactics but I wish them well in this effort to save the vaquita.