Between seven and 10 vaquitas \u2014 the world\u2019s most endangered marine mammal \u2014 have been confirmed alive in Mexico\u2019s Upper Gulf of California following a joint monitoring effort by the federal government and scientists, officials announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Details of the 2025 Vaquita Marina Observation Cruise, presented at the facilities of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), also heralded the birth of at least one new calf, giving hope to a species on the brink of extinction.<\/a><\/p>\n \u25b6\ufe0f Concluy\u00f3 una exitosa temporada de monitoreo de la #VaquitaMarina<\/a> gracias al trabajo conjunto de #Semarnat<\/a>, @SEMAR_mx<\/a>, @PROFEPA_Mx<\/a>, @Conanp_mx<\/a>, @bcgobierno<\/a> y @seashepherd<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a1La esperanza sigue viva en el Alto Golfo de California!#SomosMedioAmbiente<\/a> \ud83e\ude75\ud83d\udc2c pic.twitter.com\/CblHt4L9jG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 SEMARNAT M\u00e9xico (@SEMARNAT_mx) October 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The visual monitoring from Sept. 2 to 30, following five months of acoustic monitoring<\/a>, was supported by Mexican and international marine scientists aboard two vessels of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s annual vaquita census expedition<\/a> counted only six to eight individuals, down from between eight and 13 in 2023.<\/p>\n Though this year\u2019s slight increase offers hope for recovery, scientists note that returning to the 2015 population of 60 would take up to 20 years<\/p>\n These figures are for the entire global population, since vaquitas are found in only one location: Mexico\u2019s Upper Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez.<\/p>\n They are shy, small porpoises whose full name in Spanish is vaquita marina, which translates to little sea cow.<\/p>\n Their population\u2019s severe decline over the last two decades is largely due to a boom in the illegal fishing of totoaba, whose bladders are prized in traditional Chinese medicine and can fetch very high prices.<\/p>\n Totoaba are commonly caught using gillnets, which also indiscriminately trap and kill vaquitas.<\/p>\n Marina Robles Garc\u00eda, undersecretary of Biodiversity and Environmental Restoration, a division of Semarnat, said the monitoring<\/a> allows scientists to adjust their strategies and reinforce positive actions in specific areas.<\/p>\n But mainly, she added, the survey confirms \u201cthat the vaquita is still [out] there, that it persists, that the downward trend has not continued, that there are even individuals we hadn\u2019t seen for several years \u2014 that were evidently in some other location where we haven\u2019t been monitoring \u2014 and that it continues to reproduce.\u201d<\/p>\n Using 1,228 detectors at 497 sites, acoustic monitoring recorded 254 encounters between May and late September.<\/p>\n Local fishermen and youth in the region participated in aspects of the monitoring.<\/p>\n Visual efforts identified at least one or two calves \u2014 including a juvenile swimming alongside its mother, a 1.5-meter female named Frida who is possibly pregnant again \u2014 signaling reproduction is underway.\u00a0<\/p>\n The newly reported population is based on a 67% probability that the number of vaquitas is between seven and 10, according to a structured process of consensus called Expert Elicitation.<\/p>\n With reports from L\u00f3pez-D\u00f3riga<\/a> and La Jornada<\/a><\/p>\n