What is the Mexican government doing to save the vaquita?
To preserve the vaquita, the government of Mexico has set aside a fund for the conservation of the species. It has enabled: – the creation of a reserve where gillnets are forbidden; – support for fishers who are willing to change their activities, their practices or their fishing equipment. What is the Cousteau Society doing? The Cousteau Society is working as a partner with a Mexican scientific team. Vaquitas emit a high-frequency sound that can be distinguished from other biological acoustic signals. This makes it possible to use acoustic detectors conceived specifically for the species. The idea is to put in place an autonomous network of hydrophones that could collect data continuously for weeks or even months. This would let researchers track the abundance of the population and its movements, which is essential for any conservation plan to evaluate progress and predict the success or failure of a given action. Such an acoustic network is the most effective and most economical appr
