'Cocaine of the sea' threatens critically endangered vaquita
By Linda Pressly
BBC News, San Felipe, Mexico
Published 6 hours ago
The vaquita marina is found only in Mexico. It is the most critically endangered sea mammal on the planet, its survival threatened by a deadly clash of interests between fishing and conservation. Scientists estimate there may be fewer than a dozen left in the wild.
Jacques Cousteau, the marine explorer, called the Sea of Cortéz, also known as the Gulf of California, "the world's aquarium".
One of its treasures is a silvery-coloured porpoise with wide, panda eyes. But the vaquita's days may be numbered because of illegal fishing for another protected species: totoaba.
Totoaba, a fish that can grow as large as a vaquita, was a food source before it was placed on Mexico's endangered list.
"We used to catch it in the 60s and 70s," remembers Ramón Franco Díaz, president of a fishing federation in the coastal town of San Felipe, on the peninsula of Baja California. "Then the Chinese came with their suitcases full of dollars, and bought our consciences."
More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57070814
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