I am most certainly not an expert on the vaquita. In fact, it if was not for the fact that Sean Jenson made the local news that he traveled 1,ooo miles on a kayak and arrived in Cabo San Lucas to bring awareness to their plight, I may not have ever heard of them and that is sad. Thank you Sean!
The vaquita is a species of porpoise endemic (the only place in the world they exist) to the northern end of the Gulf of California in Baja California, Mexico. Look at those sweet faces!
In 2018, CIRVA (International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita) estimated that a mere 6 to 22 individuals remained and it is estimated that there are only about 10-13 left in a survey in 2023. To give perscpective, in 1997 the vaquita population was estimated to be roughly 600!
Why is so difficult to know the exact number left? The vaquita are naturaly elusive and shy, there habitat is restrcited to the Sea of Cortez (excuse me, AMLO insists we only call it the Gulf of California now), which is estimated to be about 62,000 square miles, the vaquita prefer the shallow waters near the Colorado Delta River. They are also exposed to illegal gillnet fishing.
The vaquita reaches about 59 inches in length, and are an essential part of the ecosystem’s food chain being both predator and prey for species such as sharks and Orac’s (killer whales) and these gentle creatures serve as a vital mechanism of population control for several species of fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods. Some might say they play a small role in the ecosystem and have the smallest range of any whale, dolphin, or porpoise. Every living thing on this planet has a major role in the ecosystem regardless of the size of their job. (see, not an expert I really just want you all to read about his journey and why he is so pationate about it)
Vaquitas are the most endangered of the world’s marine mammals.
Local online news sources (one of many) have quoted Sean who is unavailable for comments at this time to me (because I didn’t reach out so it’s on me however, I got too caught up on trying to learn more about the vaquita but will tag him and hope he can add more insight to his journey. He’s a blogger so I will instead hope he tags ME so that I can share part 2),
“It just took forever. I was thinking that La Paz would never let me go. With a hole in my board and windy days and days, I gnashed my teeth. I had some personal problems and I had ten days of nothing in front of me to deal with them. But I couldn’t have been more grateful to the city and the wonderful people I was able to connect with. The wonderful owner of the house who let me stay in the nautical community welcoming me and keeping me company,” he said. …
This, is part 1 of Sean Jenson’s journey in his own words. https://flylordsmag.com/paddling-with-porpoise-pt-1/
Sean, welcome to Cabo San Lucas. We all look forward to part 2 of your blog. I’m totally chill about editing my blogs so if I got ANYTHING wrong, please let me know.
xoxo,
Just Jenn
https://livecaboradio.com for awesome music 24/7 as Cabo’s OG internet radio station.
Subscribers, I hope this time I caught all oopsies. If not, I’ll find them after publishing like I always do 🤦♀️