• Endangered porpoise gains crucial protections

More than 35,000 messages from BioGems Defenders helped fuel a major breakthrough in efforts to save the vaquita marina, a small porpoise found only in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico. Mexico's chief shrimp exporter, California-based Ocean Garden, signed a landmark accord with NRDC and local fishermen to prevent the accidental catch of vaquitas and more than 400 other species in fishing nets and to eliminate illegal fishing in the Upper Gulf.