Thursday, August 14, 2014

The Extinction of the Vaquita?

In the San Diego Tribune, Sandra Dibble has just published an important article on the immanent extinction of the vaquita, the world's smallest porpoise, unique to Mexico's Sea of Cortez. Read it in full and watch the video here.

I've written about the catastrophe-- that really is the word-- in the Sea of Cortez in my book on Baja California, Miraculous Air. One of the chapters, about Bahía de los Angeles, is on-line at this link. It's a complex issue, and it's not all about the lack of regulation and enforcement on fishing limits, but also on the pollutants washing into the Sea of Cortez from the United States' agricultural run-off.  But it is also as simple as this: the tragedy of the commons.

COMMENTS always welcome.

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SURF ON:
Madam Mayo:
> Cyberflanerie: Bajacaliforniana
> Guest-blogger David Rothenberg's 5 Links on Music for and with Whales
> The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece
On the homepage www.cmmayo.com:
> Baja California photo album
> (Podcast) A Conversation with Sara Mansfield Taber, author of the memoir Born Under an Assumed Name
> (Podcast) An Interview with Cynthia McAllister: "The Buzz on the Bees" (Pollinators in the Chihuahuan Desert)