This is a drawing called “Morph.” It represents the complexity of the Vaquita’s situation by showing how vague the difference between the Vaquita and its killer—the gillnet—is. Is there a good side? Or are they both good—or neither? I believe that this is one of the few situations where the murderer is not an antagonist.
The fishermen are people with families that are doing all they can to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.
The Vaquita is an innocent little porpoise that has never harmed a human being, yet has been forced to don the title of most endangered marine mammal. Their predicament is the unfortunate side effect of an economically efficient fishing method.
There will never be a story about the Vaquita without mention of gillnets. They go hand-in-hand, and always will. Let’s just hope that in the future we will be talking about the Vaquita’s conquering of gillnets, not vice versa.
In the end, it is up to the fishermen to make a very difficult choice: illegally fishing for temporary wealth but driving the Vaquita to extinction and destroying the Gulf’s ecosystem, or switching to admittedly expensive alternative gear that preserves the Vaquita and the food chain as well as giving their families eventual wealth. Our job is to convince them to choose the second one. In addition to spreading the word on social media, an undeniably great way to help with this problem is by donating. $50 can eliminate an entire day of gillnetting. Please consider clicking below and donating to what I believe is the worthiest cause on the planet, brought to you by GreaterGood.org. Thanks from the Vaquita.
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