A field effort to capture critically endangered vaquitas Phocoena sinus for protection from entanglement in illegal gillnets

Abstract

Here we describe 'VaquitaCPR' (CPR: conservation, protection, recovery), a project intended to save the vaquita Phocoena sinus from extinction by temporarily removing individuals from adverse in situ conditions and placing them into emergency care. The vaquita, first described in 1958 Since its discovery, the population has declined at an increasing rate: estimated population size was 567 in 1997,