In Bid to Save Vaquita Porpoise, Court Orders Trump Admin to Ban Mexican Seafood Imports

UPDATED – November 22, 2017: The dolphin-led vaquita mission may be over, but the fight to save the endangered “pandas of the sea” lives on. A coalition of conservation groups filed a legal notice on Tuesday, pressuring the U.S. government to ban all seafood caught from Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California.

The main threat to the tiny porpoises’ survival is drowning after getting caught in gillnets.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), and Center for Biological Diversity notified the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service that its failure to ban imports of seafood from the vaquitas’ habitat in Mexico violates the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Act requires that the U.S. ban seafood imports from fisheries that kill marine mammals – like vaquitas – in excess of U.S. standards.

“The Mexican government has known for decades that gillnets kill vaquita, yet it has utterly failed to implement and enforce adequate protections for this tiny porpoise," said Kate O'Connell, marine wildlife consultant at AWI.

She continued:

“The United States must take action to compel Mexico to remedy these failures and ban imports of seafood that threaten this rare species. Our markets should not be responsible for the extinction of a critically endangered marine mammal.”

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UPDATED – November 10, 2017: Countable promised to keep you updated as news – and high-pitched clicks – came in. We were hoping to give you a feel-good update about the plan to use Navy-trained dolphins to rescue the rare vaquita porpoises. Sadly, the mission has been called off after a breeding-age female was caught, but died a few hours after being placed in a protective pen. Vaquita CPR, the team behind the rescue operation, released a statement saying they were “heartbroken by this devastating loss” and have decided to suspend the capture program indefinitely.

UPDATED – October 20, 2017: Vaquita porpoises never captured in the wild, researchers were uncertain if their plan - using Navy-trained dolphins to locate the rare creatures - would work. However, with the help of Fathom, Andrea, Katrina, and Splash, the researchers were able to capture a calf, though they released it because it was too small to survive without its mother.

"The successful rescue made conservation history and demonstrates that the goal [of the vaquita rescue] is feasible," said Mexico’s Environment Secretary Rafael Pacchiano. "No one has ever captured and cared for a vaquita porpoise, even for a brief period of time. This is an exciting moment and as a result, I am confident we can indeed save the vaquita marina from extinction."

Countable’s earlier story appears below.

When the Navy SEALS can’t do the job, it’s time to call in the Navy dolphins.

Operation Vaquita Rescue brings together four highly-trained military dolphins in a last-ditch effort to save the tiny porpoises from extinction.

Fathom, Katrina, Andrea, and Splash are in San Felipe, Baja California, where they’ll spend the next month helping Mexican wildlife officials locate the endangered vaquitas so they can be captured and placed in protective pens.

Jim Fallin, spokesman for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, told the AP that the bottlenose dolphins – which were hand-picked for this mission - "will use their natural sonar to locate the extremely elusive vaquitas, then surface and advise their handlers."

Vaquitas – which are only found in the Sea of Cortez - resemble tiny chubby dolphins. Measuring about 5 feet and weighing around 120 pounds, their goofy grin and black-ringed eyes have earned them the nickname "panda of the sea." Due to rampant illegal fishing in the area, vaquita numbers have dwindled by 90 percent in the past five years. Fewer than 30 remain alive today.

Fathom, Katrina, Andrea, and Splash were trained by the Navy in San Francisco, where they successfully located harbor porpoises. But Alex Olivera, the Mexico representative for the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, said this operation is far riskier—but has to be done.

"This risky option became the only option, but vaquita have never been captured alive before, so this effort is uncertain," Olivera said. “It’s a high-stakes operation that’s happening because the Mexican government has shown an inability to protect the animals in the wild. That has to change if the vaquita is to have any future.”

The mission began at sunrise Friday. Countable will keep you updated as news – and high-pitched clicks – come in.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: Flip Nicklin)