Vaquita porpoise could survive … but only if illegal fishing stops immediately

DNA study finds rarest cetacean, only found in Gulf of California, has enough genetic diversity to recover - if gillnet ban is enforced

Scientists studying the DNA of the world's smallest cetacean and rarest marine mammal, the vaquita porpoise, have made a surprising and bittersweet discovery.

With a tiny population of fewer than 10 individuals left, the mammal was assumed by conservationists to be at a similar risk of harmful mutations and inbreeding as other species with small gene pools.