Environment correspondent by Helen.
According to a genetic study, the world's rarest sea mammal still has a chance of survival.
The vaquita porpoise is on the verge of extinction, but scientists say the population is still genetically viable.
The porpoise lives in the Gulf of California.
It is at risk of being caught in large weighted nets.
The vaquita has a good chance of avoiding extinction if we remove the gillnets from its habitat, according to the study researcher.
She said that there was no reason to think that the vaquita was doomed because it had small population sizes or low genetic diversity.
Even if the vaquita could be protected from fishing pressures, the health effects of in-breeding would wipe it out.
The vaquita should be able to bounce back from near extinction if its habitat is fully protected.
If they receive complete protection, they have a high chance of making it over the next 50 years.
The vaquitas that were analysed are related to the ones that are alive today. They created a computer model to predict how the population will change over the next 50 years.
The risks from in-breeding are reduced because the species has been rare for a long time. They believe there are lessons for other species, such as those living on islands.
It will not be easy to save the vaquita given past tensions between locals and the Mexican government.
The attempts to ban gillnets have been met with opposition. Illegal trade in a fish called the totoaba has contributed to the demise of the vaquita and other marine species.
Before it was placed on Mexico's "endangered" list, Totoaba was a food source.
The swim bladder, an organ that helps the fish stay afloat, is highly prized in China.
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