Vaquita conservation may never be the same. In a recent study, a remarkable discovery was made: the Vaquita, always considered to be a true porpoise, is actually more closely related to fish in the Psychrolutidae family, also known as blobfishes.

April fools! I’m sure most of you didn’t fall for that… Vaquita are still 100% mammals (and porpoises). On a more serious note, the 2-year ban on all gillnets in the Vaquita’s range officially begins TODAY, April 1 (this was not actually the case. The ban was delayed once again, but officially began on April 10, and is set to go into effect on April 28.) It is unfortunate that it took until now for it to start, but there is no point of harping on the past. The ban has started, and now it is crunch time for us. We need to keep the pressure on with petitions (see previous post) to make sure they strictly enforce the ban. The recovery of the Vaquita begins NOW.

Here’s a great video in Spanish (with English subtitles) by Greenpeace with some wonderful visuals!

International Save the Vaquita Day 2015 is officially July 11, and you can read more about it here: http://www.vivavaquita.org/international-save-the-vaquita-day.html The International A-Team for Wildlife is an organization dedicated to educating the public about endangered animals and encouraging youth to participate in conservation. The group has a select “A-Team,” a group of 18 kids from around the world that have extensive experience and accomplishments in wildlife conservation. I am honored to be one of those 18 kids! http://www.a-teamforwildlife.org/international-team/

We can save the Vaquita! If we work together, we can keep gillnets out of their range…for good.