Gillnet fisheries pose the greatest threat to the vaquita population. Current bycatch estimates are unavailable, but in the early 1990s an estimated 39 to 84 individuals were caught by fishermen from one...
Trawls are cone-shaped nets dragged behind one or two vessels at the ocean bottom or through the mid-water column. The mouth of the net is kept rigid by a beam, by heavy doors (otter trawls), or by the tension in the lines that connect the net to two separate boats as they drag the net (pair trawl). The recent development of trawls with large wheels known as rockhoppers prevent damage and tangling of nets and have eliminated the disincentive to trawling along rugged seafloors.