Vaquita : Science, Politics, and Crime in the Sea of Cortez

In 2006, vaquita, a diminutive porpoise making its home in the Upper Gulf of California, inherited the dubious title ofworld’s most endangered marine mammal.

Nicknamed “panda of the sea” for its small size and beguiling facialmarkings, vaquita have been in decline for decades, dying by the hundreds in gillnets intended for the commerciallyvaluable fish, totoaba.

When international crime cartels discovered a lucrative trade in the swim bladders of totoaba,illegal gillnetting went rampant, and now the lives of the few remaining vaquita hang in the balance. Author Brooke Bessesen takes us on a journey to Mexico’s Upper Gulf region to uncover the story.

She interviewedtownspeople, fishermen, politicians, scientists, and activists, teasing apart a complex story filled with villains and heroes,a story whose outcome is unclear.

When diplomatic and political efforts to save the little porpoise failed, Bessesentraveled with a team of veterinary experts in a binational effort to capture the remaining ten vaquita and breed them incaptivity—the only hope for their survival.

In this fast-paced, soul-searing tale, she learned that there are no easy answerswhen extinction is profitable. Whether the rescue attempt succeeds or fails, the world must ask itself hard questions.

When vaquita and the totoaba are gone, the black market will turn to the next vulnerable species.

What will we do then?