Vaquita, Brooke Bessesen
Vaquita, Brooke Bessesen
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Vaquita
Science, Politics, and Crime in the Sea of Cortez

Author: Brooke Bessesen, Carl Safina

Narrator: Xe Sands

Unabridged: 7 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/11/2018


Synopsis

In 2006, vaquita, a diminutive porpoise making its home in the Upper Gulf of California, inherited the dubious title of world’s most endangered marine mammal. Nicknamed “panda of the sea” for their small size and beguiling facial markings, vaquitas have been in decline for decades, dying by the hundreds in gillnets intended for commercially valuable fish, as well as for an endangered fish called totoaba. When international crime cartels discovered a lucrative trade in the swim bladders of totoaba, illegal gillnetting went rampant, and now the lives of the few remaining vaquitas hang in the balance.

Author Brooke Bessesen takes us on a journey to Mexico’s Upper Gulf region to uncover the story. She interviewed townspeople, fishermen, 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 failed, Bessesen followed 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. In this fast-paced, soul-searing tale, she learned that there are no easy answers when extinction is profitable.

Whether the rescue attempt succeeds or fails, the world must ask itself hard questions. When vaquita and the totoaba are gone, the black market will turn to the next vulnerable species. What will we do then?

About Brooke Bessesen

Brooke Bessesen has worked with wildlife for over thirty years in animal rescue, veterinary medicine, and field biology. As a research fellow, she has conducted marine studies in Costa Rica and authored several scientific articles, including one naming a new taxon of sea snake. She has also written five children's books and a popular Arizona wildlife guide. As the founder of Authors for Earth Day, she directs an international coalition of authors who educate school kids about conservation.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Emma on October 22, 2023

A large part of me wanted to give this book a low rating, not because it was a bad book — on the contrary, it was an excellent book — but because it was such a heartbreaking read. I lost count of the number of times it made me cry and there were moments when every turn of the page felt like a fresh......more

Goodreads review by Caley on June 10, 2023

The most heartwrenching and frustrating piece of ecology nonfiction I've read in recent memory.......more

Goodreads review by Jolanta (knygupė) on February 08, 2025

Paskutiniais duomenimis vaquitų (meksikiečių meiliai vadinamom mažomis karvytėmis) likę tik 8. Aš net nežinojau apie tokius jūros žinduolius, o jų jau greit neliks :(......more

Goodreads review by Chloe on March 22, 2020

I thought that this book was very well-written. It had so much detail written about the vaquita and how it is endangered. This book is very powerfully written and I think that it also shows that endangered species is such a big problem in the world for so many different reasons, and it definitely ne......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on January 13, 2020

Vaquita: Science, Politics, and Crime in the Sea of Cortez centers on the vaquita, a critically endangered porpoise found only in a small part of the northern Gulf of California. Author Brooke Bessesen delves into the history of commercial fishing in the Gulf of California and the start of the decli......more