SAN FELIPE, Mexico _ A flotilla of small vessels set off into Mexico's Upper Gulf of California before daybreak on Friday, launching a daring and desperate quest to prevent the extinction of a species.
For the next month, biologists, veterinarians, technicians and four female U.S. Navy bottlenose dolphins from San Diego are slated to participate in this expedition aimed at locating Mexico's few remaining vaquita porpoises. Dubbed Vaquita CPR (Conservation, Protection and Recovery), the plan envisions not just capturing them, but breeding them in order to rebuild the population. And hopefully, once conditions allow, releasing them back into the wild.
The chances of success? Nobody knows, because it's never been done before. Scientists say it's one of the most complex marine mammal rescue efforts put into operation, and the challenge is a big one: Fewer than 30 vaquitas are believed to exist, and they are shy and prone to stay away from boats. No vaquita has ever been captured alive, much less bred under human care.
Yet if anyone is up to the task, this is the group that can do it: top dolphin and porpoise experts from Mexico, the United States, Denmark, Holland and New Zealand who are pooling their skills for this $5 million effort spearheaded by Mexico's federal government off the coast of Baja California.
"If I didn't think it could be done, I wouldn't be here," said Grant Abel, an animal husbandry specialist from New Zealand who has worked with finless porpoise populations in Japan and China. "The main challenge is the fact that this is the first time. Everything we do with these animals, we're going to be looking at their behavior and responses to help guide us in our decision-making for the next step."
The plan has been taking shape off the coast of San Felipe, a fishing community of some 30,000 residents that has been ground zero for vaquita rescue efforts for more than a decade. People here have been divided on the subject _ some are working with government and environmental groups to remove totoaba nets and develop sustainable practices, while others see the protection measures as a threat to their livelihood.
Since 2015, when President Enrique Pena Nieto came to announce a ban on drift gillnets and other actions to protect the vaquita, fishermen have received compensation not to fish. Mexico's federal government took it a step further this month, announcing a no-navigation zone in the vaquita's habitat through Dec. 17 in support of Vaquita CPR.
The lights of San Felipe glimmered like polished jewels as the scientists left in the dark Friday for their first full day of searching. A small crowd gathered on a dock by the expedition's main dormitory and operations center, the cruise ship Pacific Monarch. It was a good beginning, with low winds and clear skies that promised smooth waters as they set off with nets, custom-made stretchers, and special carrier boxes designed to provisionally hold any captured vaquita being brought to shore.
