Unsubstantiated Claims Can Lead to Tragic Conservation Outcomes

The vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus) is Mexico's only endemic—and the world's most endangered—marine mammal. With a population of fewer than 30 individuals (Thomas et al. 2017, IUCN 2018), any delay in taking needed conservation actions will result in its extinction. A recent article in the journal Sustainability (Manjarrez-Bringas et al. 2018) reasserts, without providing any scientific evidence, the baseless claims that the vaquita is...