Urgent: Protect Vaquitas

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Defenders of Wildlife has joined an international campaign to boycott the consumption of Mexican shrimp to protect the critically endangered vaquita. We are calling on everyone across the U.S. to stand up for vaquitas and boycott Mexican shrimp until the government of Mexico implements and enforces a total ban on the use of gillnets in the Upper Gulf of California, the vaquita's only habitat.

This tiny warm-water porpoise is facing extinction as its numbers dwindle to record lows. It is currently estimated that fewer than 30 vaquitas survive. The largest threat to vaquitas is drowning in fishing gear, which kills half of the remaining population each year. Vaquita scientists state that unless gillnets are eliminated from the Upper Gulf of California completely, these rare creatures will become extinct in the next three years. Time is running out — we must act now to save this species from extinction.

**Convince the Mexican government to implement and enforce a permanent ban on gillnets in the Upper Gulf of California.**