BajaNomad
Not logged in [Login - Register]

Go To Bottom
Printable Version  
Author: Subject: That's gold, Jerry! Gold!
DavidT
Nomad
**




Posts: 494
Registered: 4-9-2005
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 5-10-2017 at 10:55 AM
That's gold, Jerry! Gold!


There's gold in them thar vaquitas

Despite a recent report that there may be only 2 or 3 vaquitas left in the northern Gulf of California, a San Diego marine mammal expert said the effort is moving "full speed ahead" with a $4 million dollar plan to save the critically endangered porpoise from extinction.

Barbara Taylor, a marine biologist with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, said while there is no way to know for sure how many vaquitas are alive today, she believes there may be closer to 15 vaquitas

"From the summer of 2015 to 2016 we went from 60 to 30. We expect we'll probably lose another half of the population. We'll probably be down to 10-15 animals. We hope we're luckier than that. But the acoustic monitoring next summer will be what tells us the story," she said.

The acoustic monitoring is part of a bi-national effort to find and capture the vaquita for captivity. The plan includes U.S. Navy dolphins that have been trained to track the vaquita.

"It's a very unusual tool and we don't know whether it's going to work, it would be a thrill if one marine mammal can find another," she said. "The Navy has been preparing them to go out there and hopefully what they'll help us do is keep track of the vaquita because they often swim in singles or pairs and they are very hard to see."

Taylor said she is also working to sequence the species' full genome, which may eventually help scientists breed the vaquita in captivity.

The vaquita is on the brink of extinction because of illegal gill nets used by poachers to catch endangered totoaba fish.

That's gold, Jerry!





David
Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
View user's profile
BigBearRider
Super Nomad
****




Posts: 1299
Registered: 4-30-2015
Location: Big Bear, Punta Chivato, and Cabo
Member Is Offline

Mood: :)

[*] posted on 5-10-2017 at 11:04 AM


Cautiously optimistic. I don't like the sound (no pun intended, really) of "acoustic monitoring next summer." Action is needed ASAP.
View user's profile
woody with a view
PITA Nomad
*******




Posts: 15937
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline

Mood: Everchangin'

[*] posted on 5-10-2017 at 12:35 PM


Sounds dumb. Do they have a fake vaquita to teach dolphins how to differenciate from other dolphins? Too bad the little guys are on the slippery slope to extinction.



View user's profile

  Go To Top

 






All Content Copyright 1997- Q87 International; All Rights Reserved.
Powered by XMB; XMB Forum Software © 2001-2014 The XMB Group






"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen. The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez

 

"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt

 

"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes

 

"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn

 

"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law







Thank you to Baja Bound Mexico Insurance Services for your long-term support of the BajaNomad.com Forums site.







Emergency Baja Contacts Include:

Desert Hawks; El Rosario-based ambulance transport; Emergency #: (616) 103-0262