Is it too late to save Mexico’s vaquita porpoise? | TechKnow
The vaquita is the world’s smallest cetacean, a miniature porpoise with what some describe as cartoonlike features, and dark smudges around its eyes. The marine mammal lives only in the fertile waters of the Mexico’s Gulf of California. The problem: it shares its habitat with the totoaba, a fish coveted by wealthy Chinese who believe it has mystical medicinal powers. The vaquita are trapped in illegal gillnets set for the totoaba.
In this episode, TechKnow looks at the various efforts to save this exquisite animal from extinction. The Mexican Navy has attempted to patrol the waters of the gulf to stop this illegal fishing, but the region’s poor fishermen are easily lured by the big payday. The country’s environmental agencies have declared war on gillnets. Locals make their living off of shrimping, and they prefer gillnets. Replacement nets have been distributed, but old habits are difficult to break. In addition, Techknow boards a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel. Their two vessels are on 24/7 patrols to protect the vaquita from illegal fishing.
More from TechKnow on:
Twitter – https://Twitter.com/AJTechKnow
Website – http://aljazeera.com/TechKnow
Subscribe to AJE on YouTube – http://aje.io/YTsubscribe
Post Series: Mexico
- 1.INCREDIBLE FLYING RAYS!
- 2.The Fruits of Mexico’s Cheap Labor
- 3.Mexico’s Immigrant Oasis: Last Stop Before the Border
- 4.Living on US-Mexico Border, Native Americans Face Daily Struggles
- 5.These Kids Live In Mexico But Cross The Border Daily To Go To School In The US
- 6.The Hispanic child migrants desperate to reach America
- 7.Caring for undocumented children who cross the border
- 8.Who are the children crossing the US border? – BBC News
- 9.An Island made from plastic bottles by Richart Sowa
- 10.Mexican cartels threatening tourism in Cancun | Unreported World
- 11.The Missing 43: Mexico’s Disappeared Students (Full Length)
- 12.Mexico’s Vigilante State – Fault Lines
- 13.Mexico builds wall to keep out Monsanto’s GMOs
- 14.Sewer Diving | National Geographic
- 15.This Fiery Spider Is Facing a Grim Future
- 16.This Brightly-Colored Parrot is On the Brink of Extinction
- 17.Is it too late to save Mexico’s vaquita porpoise? | TechKnow
- 18.Vaquita Is The Rarest Marine Mammal On Earth
- 19.Can conservation save our ocean? | The Economist