Vaquita How Many Left 2024 Release Date. Compared to the 8 to 13 vaquita estimated in 2023, the new numbers indicate that the vaquita population may have declined or vaquita moved outside the survey area. The vaquita population has declined drastically, falling from nearly 600 in 1997 to fewer than 10 in 2024 because of entanglement in gillnets used for illegal fishing.
The most recent assessment by the international committee for the recovery of the vaquita (cirva) presents a sobering outlook on the vaquita’s dwindling population. The tiny vaquita porpoise is the world’s most endangered marine mammal.