The NOAA ship David Starr Jordan is a key element in Vaquita conservation.

The Vaquita was discovered only around 55 years ago. Little is known about it, but we know we need to save it. In California, there is a group of extremely dedicated men and women, of which Thomas A. Jefferson and Barbara Taylor are a part, that embarks every few years on a Vaquita mission called Expedition Vaquita. The purpose of this mission is to determine a very accurate population estimate. There are also efforts to get the gillnets out of the water. A few years ago the Biosphere Reserve and Vaquita Refuge were created in the core range of the Vaquita. These makes it illegal to fish there, but many fishermen do so anyway. And very importantly, there is the buy-out program. The current buy-out program consists of the buy-out, the rent-out, and the switch-out. The buy-out is when we pay the fishermen to turn in their fishing permits (which, because they keep their boats, can result in illegal fishing anyway). The rent-out is when they are paid to stay out of the Refuge, even though they keep their permits. And the switch-out, the most hopeful option, is when the fishermen are given an alternative fishing method (small trawls, pots, hook and line, long lines, etc.). All of these efforts take a lot of money, which is why we need so many donations! Even though I am 13 years old, I have donated a lot of time and money to this species. I know you can too. You just have to check the blog weekly and check out the links on the blogroll. You can literally help save a species. My vision is that the Vaquita will recover.