Please click Like if you like this petition about the vaquita, a small porpoise found only in the upper Gulf of California in Mexico, that is one of the world’s most endangered mammals. In the past three years, half of the vaquita population has been killed in fishing nets, many of them set illegally to capture an endangered fish. Fewer than 100 vaquitas remain and the species will soon be extinct unless drastic steps are taken immediately. A new, illegal fishery has emerged in the past few years that is an even greater menace to the vaquita. Many vaquitas have died in nets set for totoaba, a giant fish that can reach 2 m in length and 100 kg in weight. This endangered fish is prized for its swim bladder, which is exported to China where it is used as an ingredient in soup and believed to have medicinal value. Thousands of swim bladders are dried and smuggled out of Mexico, often through the United States. The remainder of the fish is left to rot on the beach. Fishermen receive up to $8,500 for each kilogram of totoaba swim bladder, equivalent to half a year’s income from legal fishing activities. change.org/petitions/prevent-the-extinction-of-the-vaquita-porpoise-the-world-s-most-endangered-marine-mammal
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 03:07:27 +0000
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