Mexico to spend millions to save porpoises

Mexico plans to invest $16 million to save the highly endangered Gulf of California harbor porpoise in the upper part of the gulf, asking reluctant fishermen to adopt safer methods or give up their trade entirely, the Associated Press reports.

Scientists say the population of the porpoise known as the vaquita marina -- Spanish for "little sea cow" -- has dwindled to 150 or fewer. In the undated photo above released by Proyecto Vaquita, a porpoise lies dead on a beach along the Gulf of California.

Plans include paying fishermen to avoid the porpoise's habitat, give up drag nets that drown dozens of the animals each year or give up fishing, Environment Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira said in Ensenada.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: EFE/Associated Press

Red lionfish wreaking havoc on Caribbean's ecosystem

The red lionfish, a visually stunning but venomous sea creature, is rapidly multiplying in the Caribbean's warm waters, swallowing native species, stinging divers and wreaking havoc on an ecologically delicate region, the Associated Press reports.

A marine biologist likens the arrival of the red lionfish to an invasion of locusts. As the AP reports:

The red lionfish, a tropical native of the Indian and Pacific oceans that probably escaped from a Florida fish tank, is showing up everywhere -- from the coasts of Cuba and Hispaniola to Little Cayman's pristine Bloody Bay Wall.

Wherever it appears, the adaptable predator corners fish and crustaceans up to half its size and sucks them down in one violent gulp.

"This may very well become the most devastating marine invasion in history," said Mark A. Hixon, an Oregon State University zoology professor and marine ecology expert who compared lionfish to a plague of locusts. "There is probably no way to stop the invasion completely."

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Doug Kesling/Associated Press

Dog Bites Seal

Seals, sea lions, and birds that beach themselves are attracting unwanted attention from dogs that bark at them, chase them and sometimes bite them. Dust-ups between canines trying to have fun and marine mammals trying to get some rest on the Southern California coast are particularly frequent on the shore between the north channel Marina Peninsula and the Venice Pier.

"Most of the beachings are probably animals that need help," says marine animal rescuer Peter Wallerstein, with the nonprofit Friends of Animals. "If they don’t beach themselves, they can’t help themselves and we can’t help them."

Wallerstein had to fend off three dogs to rescue this emaciated elephant seal pup that beached itself last week. "It’s a young one, just trying to figure out life without mom," he says. The pup is now recuperating at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro.

-- Carla Hall

Photo: Peter Wallerstein/Friends of Animals