Slides from Dr. Tom Jefferson's vaquita presentation at El Dorado Ranch, San Felipe, Mexico 6/25/10

1. ¡Viva Vaquita! Can We Save the World’s Most Endangered Marine Mammal Species? Thomas A. Jefferson Cetos Research Organization, San Diego, CA

3. Funding Sources Anonymous Foundation

5. Steller’s Sea Cow - EXTINCT The last individual killed in 1768, 27 years after discovery

6. Northern Elephant Seal - RECOVERED Reduced to about 50 individuals near turn of the 20th Century

7. Gray Whale - RECOVERED ENP Stock twice reduced to near extinction, but has since recovered

8. West Indian Monk Seal - EXTINCT Wiped out by sealing and collections for museums in the 1950s

9. Baiji - EXTINCT Declared extinct in 2006, as a result of habitat destruction

11. Six Species of Porpoises - Four Species of Phocoena Spectacled Porpoise Harbor Porpoise Burmeister’s Porpoise Vaquita

12. Two Species in Other Genera - Dall’s and Finless Porpoises Dall’s Porpoise Finless Porpoise

15. Species Only Described in 1958

16. Vaquita Distribution Most restricted distribution of ANY marine cetacean < 4,000 km 2 (1/4 the size of the LA area)

17. Shallow Depths San Felipe Occurs only in the shallow (10-50 m) depths of the northern Gulf of California

18. High Productivity San Felipe Vaquita habitat is highly productive

19. The Problem - Gillnets

23. Mexico’s Large Gillnet Fleet

24. Shrimp Trawling

25. Among Highest Conservation Priorities of All Mammals Vaquita Source : Isaac et al. 2007 - “ Mammals on the EDGE…”

26. Existing Photos - Dead Porpoises A. Robles A. Robles

27. Best Photos Before 2008 - Blurry, Grainy Images G. Silber G. Ybarra Only previous photo to show a vaquita face

28. October 2008 - San Felipe Photo Expedition

29. David Starr Jordan

30. After 18 Frustrating Days… Success! - High-Quality Photos

31. Then… 13 Sightings in 13 Days! Rocas Consag San Felipe Colorado River Delta When seas were calm, and we searched the right area, we found vaquitas

32. All Sightings in Vicinity of Rocas Consag Vaquita Rocas Consag

33. Rocas Consag This island can be seen from anywhere in the range of the species 87 m (285 ft)

34. The Importance of Calm Seas Beaufort 0-2/3, average Beau 0.92

35. Photo-identification IS Possible

36. Four Individuals IDed Nicola Mid-nick Top-nick Fingertip

37. Enforcement Both Navy and PROFEPA were out in force

38. The End?… Hopefully Not for the Vaquita!

40. Creation of New Website www.vivavaquita.org

44. In 5 or 10 years, will the vaquita still be here? Illustration by Uko Gorter

45. Visit www.vivavaquita.org to learn more about how you can help… ¡Viva Vaquita!