The vaquita marina (Phocoena sinus), a small porpoise inhabiting the northern Gulf of California, is considered the most endangered marine mammal on the planet.
Known as the “panda of the sea” due to the dark rings around its eyes and its black lips, its population has decreased by 98% in the last 30 years. The last count conducted in October 2025 estimates that there are fewer than 10 individuals left in the wild.
The threat of gillnets
The main risk factor is illegal fishing with gillnets, primarily used to catch the totoaba fish, whose swim bladder is sold in China for up to US$ 10,000 as a delicacy. Although totoaba fishing has been banned in Mexico since 1975 and gillnets were outlawed in 2017, the practice continues. In March 2025, the Mexican government seized more than 9 kilometers of illegal nets with 72 dead totoabas.
The vaquita, similar in size to the totoaba (1.5 meters long), gets caught as bycatch, leading the species to critical survival levels.
Conservation measures and their limits
Mexico has implemented actions such as:
- Zero tolerance area: a 225 km² no-fishing zone in the upper gulf.
- Concrete blocks with hooks: installed on the seabed to trap illegal nets.
While these measures have partially reduced the use of nets, they are not enough, as vaquitas use habitats outside those areas.
Mexican scientist Lorenzo Rojas Bracho, advisor to the National Marine Mammal Foundation, insists that the key is to provide fishermen with alternative equipment safe for the vaquita. However, these are often more expensive and less efficient, discouraging their use.
The international dimension of the problem
The protection of the vaquita marina also depends on reducing the illegal demand for totoaba. According to Paola Mosig Reidl from the NGO Traffic, it is essential to implement behavior change projects in China to decrease the consumption of swim bladders.
Additionally, there is the option of allowing the export of farmed totoaba under the concept of “farming for conservation.” Studies from the University of California in Santa Barbara and AgroParisTech indicate that this alternative could reduce poaching, although its international trade remains illegal.
International pressure and sanctions
In 2023, Mexico was sanctioned by CITES for not effectively combating illegal totoaba fishing, temporarily suspending the trade of regulated wildlife. That same year, the International Whaling Commission issued its first extinction alert to warn about the critical danger facing the vaquita marina.
An uncertain but hopeful future
Despite the critical outlook, Rojas Bracho is optimistic about the new Mexican government, which took office in 2024 and organized specific meetings on the vaquita, showing political will. The combination of law enforcement, international cooperation, and demand reduction could be the last chance to save this unique species.
The vaquita marina symbolizes the fragility of ecosystems in the face of human pressure and illegal trade. Its survival depends on urgent and coordinated actions between Mexico, China, and the United States, along with a cultural change that reduces the demand for totoaba. Time is running out, and each lost individual brings humanity closer to the definitive extinction of this “panda of the sea.”
