Vanishing Vaquita

Saving the world’s most endangered marine mammal.

This document presents a call for global action to save the vaquita and conserve the Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California World Heritage site.

The vaquita lives only in the northern part of this World Heritage site ‒ an area affected by illegal and unsustainable fishing practices and wildlife trafficking of the critically endangered totoaba fish, together with urbanization and increased pollution. These impacts have started to damage the site’s outstanding universal value and are compromising its ability to support the millions of people relying on the site for food, income and other important benefits offered by the local ecosystem.

WWF has spent over 10 years working with fishermen, the Mexican government and partner organizations to promote sustainable fisheries in the Upper Gulf of California. This work targets the recovery of the critically endangered vaquita, while maintaining the resources local communities depend on. But the threats faced today also require collective global action.