First Extinction Alert Issued In 70 Years For Rarest Marine Mammal On Earth

Vaquitas are the smallest of all the living cetacean species measuring between 1.2 and 1.5 meters (4-5 feet). They are only found in the Gulf of California and it's thought there are just 10 left, down from around 30 in 2017. The reason for this decline in the population is due to fishers using gillnets, a specialized flat net used for the illegal hunting of totoaba fish, which are sold into the lucrative traditional Chinese medicine black market