"International Whaling Commission Raises Extinction Alert for Critically Endangered Vaquita Porpoise"
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has issued its first-ever extinction alert for the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, warning of its potential extinction due to gillnet entanglement. The vaquita population has dramatically decreased from about 570 to 10 in a decade, and their survival depends on stronger enforcement of the ban on gillnets in their habitat. The use of gillnets, which are illegal but still used to capture shrimp and totoaba fish, poses a significant threat to vaquitas. The IWC is urging immediate action to substitute gillnets with alternative fishing gears to save the vaquita from extinction.