T HE V AQUITA ( Phocoena sinus ) by Grace
All the vaquitas disappear Into the water that’s clear A little cow in Spanish Please don’t make it vanish Innocent little creatures With lots of different features Smallest porpoise in the sea That eats octopus instead of me Caught in nets All the disrespect it gets All the vaquitas disappear Into the water that is clear
I NTRODUCTION Do you know what a Vaquita is? If you want to know what it is, you're in luck, because my report is on the animal, vaquita. Its scientific species name is Phocoena sinus which is Latin for “pocket,” “recess,”and “bay.” The vaquita is a small porpoise that is only found in the northern part of the Gulf of California. Vaquitas have rarely been seen in the wild, because of the fact that they are a shy animal. The adult is between four to five feet long. So basically, they are about the same height as us. I chose to research the vaquita, because I want to learn more about them so I can help them out. I really want to save this type of porpoise because a lot of porpoises have been going extinct. For example, the Baiji, the Chinese River Dolphin, has been extinct for a few years. The vaquita is the most endangered and the smallest cetacean in the world. There are only 97 vaquitas remaining in the wild. If you want to learn more about this amazing animal, keep reading !!! A PPEARANCE The vaquita looks a little different from other porpoises. The vaquita has a unique look that no other sea animals have. They have special facial markings. For example, they have a black circular patch around their eyes and they have a black mouth. Some scientists and fishermen say “they look like they’re wearing mascara and lipstick.” Their skin color is basically, just grey, but they have various shades of grey on their bodies. The vaquita is less than five feet long. When vaquitas are first born they are smaller than a loaf of bread.
W HATS O N T HE M ENU The vaquita is a carnivore, because it eats meat. Vaquitas eat invertebrates in the sea. Invertebrate animals are animals that have no spines or backbones. For example, vaquitas eat squid, crabs, and octopus. Vaquitas also eat other kinds of sea creatures. For example, they eat croakers, grunts, and crustaceans. The vaquita is a small porpoise, so it doesn’t eat much.
H ABITAT As mentioned earlier, the vaquita is endemic in the upper northern part of Mexico’s Gulf of California. Vaquitas are found in shallow areas less than six meters deep at low tide, including sea bays and straits. They have a small reserve that Mexico set up just for the vaquitas. Gillnets were not allowed in that area because the gillnets were putting the vaquitas in danger. This will be explained in the next paragraph. They have a sanctuary which is a protected area in the ocean. But, many of the vaquitas go outside of the small protected area. So the area is not currently sufficient to save the species from extinction. W HY I TS E NDANGERED The poor little vaquita is endangered and there are less than 100 in the wild. Since 2011, the population has dropped about 18% per year, compared to about 8% per year from 19932006. The biggest threat to them is gillnet fishing. Gillnets are basically invisible nets used primarily for catching shrimp. The problem is that when gillnets are placed, the vaquita approaches it and its flipper or fluck gets caught. Then they roll to get free, but rolling only gets them tangled. Other threats are environmental pollution, such as pesticide pollution; and habitat degradation and loss. Habitat degradation is when your habitat is getting destroyed. For example, people are dumping trash in the ocean, including pesticides.
S OLUTION After many years of researching the Mexicans finally found a way to save the vaquitas. The Mexicans made a new prototype net that doesn’t harm the vaquitas. The net is a small superlight net that doesn’t catch any marine animal but shrimp. The fish swim against the tide and when the fish get caught in the nets there is a little space where they can get free. Then, the shrimp are caught on the bottom of the net while the vaquitas stay away from the fishing operation, so no harm is done to them. All they have left to do is to convince other fishermen to use the new prototype.
B IBLIOGRAPHY "Vaquita / Gulf of California Harbor Porpoise / Cochito (Phocoena sinus)." NOAA: Office of Protected Resources . NOAA National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, 8 July 2013. Web. 2 Mar. 2015. < http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/vaquita.htm >. "Vaquita." WWF . World Wildlife Fund, 2015. Web. 2 Mar. 2015. < http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/vaquita >. "Vaquita Porpoise Faces Imminent Extinction—Can It Be Saved?." National Geographic . National Geographic Society, 19962015. Web. 2 Mar. 2015. < http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140813vaquitagulfcaliforniamexi cototoabagillnettingchinabaiji/ >. Johnson, Chris. "Report: Vaquita population declines to less than 100 Recommends emergency regulations to be established." Vaquita Last Chance for the Desert Porpoise . N.p., 3 Aug. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2015. < http://vaquita.tv/blog/2014/08/03/reportvaquitapopulationdeclinestolessthan100 / >.