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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Karen McVeigh

Vaquita porpoise could survive … but only if illegal fishing stops immediately

Fish UCLA
small porpoise in calm water, showing its eye and dorsal fin
A vaquita porpoise, one of the world’s rarest mammals. Illegal totoaba fishing for the Chinese market has pushed them close to extinction. Photograph: Tom Jefferson/St Andrews University/PA


Scientists studying the DNA of the world’s smallest cetacean and rarest marine mammal, the vaquita porpoise, have made a surprising and bittersweet discovery.

close-up of a porpoise, showing its rounded head and lack of a beak
A vaquita porpoise thought to have died in an illegal gillnet. Photograph: Omar Vidal/WWF/AFP/Getty
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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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