04582nam 2200781 450 991082444930332120230126220002.01-61091-932-7(CKB)4100000004836455(MiAaPQ)EBC5435076(MiAaPQ)EBC5436544(MiAaPQ)EBC5527591(EXLCZ)99410000000483645520190228d2018 uy 0engurcnu||||||||txtrdacontentcrdamediacrrdacarrierVaquita science, politics, and crime in the Sea of Cortez /Brooke BessesenWashington District of Columbia ;Covelo ;London :Island Press,[2018]©20181 online resource (317 pages)"Foreword by Carl Safina"--Dust jacket.1-61091-931-9 Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-283) and index.Foreword -- "Goodbye Baiji" -- Prologue -- The dead girl -- Resource extraction -- Chasing a myth -- Tangled agendas -- Death, drugs, and accountability -- Pirates on patrol -- Searching for Vaquita -- Hearing is believing -- Science in the sea -- Witnessing extinction -- Saving Bigfoot -- Sending out an SOS -- Meet the totoaba -- Last-ditch effort -- Hope is a life raft (with a persistent leak) -- Epilogue."In 2006, the last of China's Yangtze river dolphins--baiji--succumbed to extinction, and la vaquita marina, a diminutive porpoise endemic to the Upper Gulf of California, quietly and without fanfare inherited the title of world's most endangered marine mammal. Unlike many other critically endangered species, the vaquita is not hunted. Nor is its habitat disappearing or degraded. The species is even protected by law. Why then have its numbers plummeted to near extinction when few humans have seen it live in the wild? The answer lies in a shadowy mix of international cartels, fishermen entrapped by politics and culture, and an unlikely fish called the totoaba. In this haunting story, Brooke Bessesen sets out to Mexico's Upper Gulf region to untangle the intricacies of the biology, acoustical science, and international intrigues behind the vaquita's decline. She interviews townspeople, fishermen, politicians, scientists, and activists, teasing apart a complex story filled with villains and heroes, a story whose outcome is unclear. When diplomatic and political efforts to save the little porpoise fail, Bessesen follows a team of veterinary experts in a binational effort to capture the last remaining vaquitas and breed them in captivity--the best hope for their survival"--Dust jacket flap.Wildlife conservationMexicoCalifornia, Gulf ofWildlife conservationEconomic aspectsMexicoCalifornia, Gulf ofWildlife conservationSocial aspectsMexicoCalifornia, Gulf ofNATURE / Animals / Marine LifebisacshNATURE / Endangered SpeciesbisacshNATURE / Environmental Conservation & ProtectionbisacshTotoaba fisheriesMexicoCalifornia, Gulf ofRare mammalsMexicoCalifornia, Gulf ofPoachingMexicoCalifornia, Gulf ofPhocoena sinusConservationSocial aspectsPhocoena sinusConservationEconomic aspectsEndangered speciesMexicoCalifornia, Gulf ofEndangered ecosystemsMexicoCalifornia, Gulf ofPhocoena sinusCalifornia, Gulf of (Mexico)CommerceCalifornia, Gulf of (Mexico)Environmental conditionsWildlife conservationWildlife conservationEconomic aspectsWildlife conservationSocial aspectsNATURE / Animals / Marine Life.NATURE / Endangered Species.NATURE / Environmental Conservation & Protection.Totoaba fisheriesRare mammalsPoachingPhocoena sinusConservationSocial aspects.Phocoena sinusConservationEconomic aspects.Endangered speciesEndangered ecosystemsPhocoena sinus.333.9522Bessesen Brooke1674836Safina Carl1955-MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910824449303321Vaquita4039868UNINA