@article{a101579fce6642d1acae22cef8223117,
title = "A field effort to capture critically endangered vaquitas Phocoena sinus for protection from entanglement in illegal gillnets",
abstract = "In 2017 an emergency field effort was undertaken in an attempt to prevent the extinction of the world's most endangered marine mammal, the vaquita Phocoena sinus. The rescue effort involved 90 experts from 9 countries and cost US$ 5 million. Following a long decline due to entanglement in legal gillnet fisheries, the vaquita population had fallen from more than 200 to fewer than 30 individuals from 2008 to 2016, due to entanglement in an illegal gillnet fishery that supplies swim bladders of the endangered totoaba Totoaba macdonaldi to Chinese black markets. An emergency ban of gillnets and increased enforcement failed to slow the decline, triggering an emergency effort to catch vaquitas and place them under protection in captivity. Two animals were targeted and captured using light gill nets; a juvenile was released 4 h later because it appeared stressed, and an adult female died of capture myopathy. The program was suspended because of the risk of additional mortalities to the population. The lack of success in capturing vaquitas for temporary protection emphasizes the need to improve our understanding of the effects of chase, capture, handling and enclosure on cetaceans, and to consider intervention before populations reach critically low levels, when there is sufficient time to use phased, precautionary approaches. Furthermore, conservation approaches focused on single species must be integrated into broader efforts to conserve ecosystems and involve the human communities that depend on them.",
keywords = "Capture myopathy, Cetacean conservation, Ex situ, Porpoise, Vaquita",
author = "L. Rojas-Bracho and Gulland, {F. M.D.} and Smith, {C. R.} and B. Taylor and Wells, {R. S.} and Thomas, {P. O.} and B. Bauer and Heide-J{\o}rgensen, {M. P.} and J. Teilmann and R. Dietz and Balle, {J. D.} and Jensen, {M. V.} and Sinding, {M. H.S.} and A. Jaramillo-Legorreta and G. Abel and Read, {A. J.} and Westgate, {A. J.} and K. Colegrove and F. Gomez and K. Martz and R. Rebolledo and S. Ridgway and T. Rowles and {van Elk}, {C. E.} and J. Boehm and G. Cardenas-Hinojosa and R. Constandse and E. Nieto-Garcia and W. Phillips and D. Sabio and R. Sanchez and J. Sweeney and F. Townsend and J. Vivanco and Vivanco, {J. C.} and S. Walker",
note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgements. Manuscript authorship represents the management team for this project. We thank the entire VaquitaCPR field team and all those who worked alongside us in San Felipe (G. Alker, J. Allen, S. Amozurrutia, J. Antrim, D. Bader, L. Ballance, A. Barleycorn, J. Barlow, A. Blancaforte, A. Borilla, D. Breese, S. M. Burton, S. Calderan, V. Cendejas, K. Coughlin, R. Daniels, J. Danoff-Berg, M. Dire, K. Danil, J. Dunham, B. Duryee, W. Elsen, J. C. H. Fer-nandez, J. Filamor, L. Fish, K. Forney, E. Franks, J. Gilpatrick, M. Gizowski, AC {\"U}, S. Hanson, K. Harding, A. Henry, S. Higgins, R. Holland, K. Kreuger, T. Jefferson, C. Lamendola, C. LeBert, K. Loflin, B. Lopez, J. Malloy, R. Mar-tinson, J. McDaniel, J. Meegan, S. Mesnick, W. Musser, M. N{\'a}jera, J.V. Ocampo, C. Oedekoven, H. Ohara-Quesada, R. Olds, R. Pitman, M. Ponce Amaya, T. Pusser, V. Resendez, H. Rico, I. Rodriguez, J. Rodriguez, P. Rodriguez, M. Rohr, J.C. Salinas, B. Sarmiento, M. Schaaf, D. Schreher, A. Smith, J. Smith, S. Stevenson, E. Vasquez, I. Vomend, B. Weisman, S. Yin, N. Young, GSD; H. Nollens, C. Parry, R. Rivera, and T. Romano for blood sample analyses; T. Robeck and N. Sted-man for examination of ovarian tissue; O. Ryder and M. Houck for tissue archiving; and A. Hall, J. Urban, N. Gales, J. McBain, and R. R. Reeves for serving on the IRP. Six fishermen were highly efficient managing deployments of acoustic detectors. We thank CIRVA for their advice and guidance throughout this effort. All animal handling was conducted under permit no. SGPA/DGVS/07534/17. Vaquita sample collection, shipping and international transport was conducted under MMPA permits nos. 18786-02 and 19091; and CITES permits MX90273, 17US082589/9 and 17US774223/9. Public communication efforts were led by Secretar{\'i}a de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) with support from the National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF) and VaquitaCPR partners. The field operation was funded primarily by the Government of M{\'e}xico with complementing funds from the AZA, Global Wildlife Conservation, the Firedoll Foundation, as well as numerous public charities, private organizations, and the general public (see www.vaquitacpr.org). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The authors, and outside the USA, the US Government 2019.",
year = "2019",
doi = "10.3354/ESR00931",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "38",
pages = "11--27",
journal = "Endangered Species Research",
issn = "1863-5407",
publisher = "Inter-Research",
}