• In a bid to save the world’s smallest species of porpoise from extinction, the Mexican government has announced plans to place some of them in a temporary refuge.
• The environment ministry said the “ambitious emergency plan” to save the vaquita marina porpoise would be carried out with help from international conservation groups.
• However, the plan is controversial with conservationists, some of whom say the vaquita is not an animal that can thrive in captivity.
• Scientists warned in February that there are only 30 vaquita remaining, saying the species faced extinction by 2022.
• The porpoise is native to the Gulf of California, where illegal fishing nets are threatening to wipe it out.
• Under the Mexican plan, “some animals will be transferred to a refuge, where they will be able to reproduce without the risk of being caught in gillnets,” the environment ministry said.
• The government has allocated $3 million for the plan, to be matched by funds from international conservation groups.
• The most common cause of death for the vaquita is getting caught in illegal gillnets meant to catch another endangered species, a large fish called the totoaba.

Source: The Hindu