Mexico shrinks protected area as world's rarest porpoise battles extinction

New agreement cuts vaquita's protected area by 86% Gov't says smaller area will help fishermen Only 7 to 10 vaquitas left in Gulf of California Scientists hope for better enforcement to prevent extinction By Ana Isabel Martinez and Sarah Morland MEXICO CITY, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Mexico's president said on Thursday a drastic reduction in the protected area for the near-extinct vaquita marina, the world's smallest porpoise, will help fishing communities, although critics fear the move threatens the species' survival. Mexico's government this week reduced the area where fishermen cannot use gillnets — long walls of nylon mesh — by 86% to 1,562 square kilometers (603 square miles), about the size of Greater London. The prior agreement had protected an area similar to the size of the US state of Connecticut. President Claudia Sheinbaum said the new scope aimed to protect biodiversity in the Gulf of California while also allowing fishermen to make a better living. Authorities said the measure took into account proposals by the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, a government advisory body. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, a Mexican marine biologist and leading vaquita expert who