Quick answer
Vaquitas hunt small fish and squid in the shallow northern Gulf of California. Gillnets set for totoaba — not an empty larder — are why the species is Critically Endangered. They are porpoises, not dolphins. Never feed wild vaquitas. Figures checked 13 August 2026.
What do vaquitas actually eat?
Small benthic and demersal fish — croakers and grunts among them — plus squid. “Carnivore (fish and squid)” without naming the gulf was the template line. They do not filter plankton like a whale shark and they do not take people.
How do vaquitas hunt?
Echolocation in turbid, shallow water, then a short surface that is easy to miss. They avoid boats. That shyness is why visual surveys need expert observers — and why a feeding video is almost never a wild vaquita.
What do they do to the food web?
They take a thin slice of small fish and squid in one corner of one gulf. Removing them does not collapse the gulf; leaving totoaba nets in does collapse them. Diet conservation here is gear conservation.
Is the conflict about food?
No. Never feed wild vaquitas. The lethal overlap is gillnets set for totoaba, not a porpoise raiding a market. A 2017 captive-care attempt failed; wild feeding is not a backup plan.
Does size change the menu?
Yes. Adults reach only about 1.5 m. Dark eye patches and a mouth line make a small, shy face — not a dolphin grin. Anatomy locks them on small prey in shallow water, which is exactly where the nets sit.
Does the diet have anywhere else to go?
No. The hunting ground is the northern Gulf of California and nowhere else. WARN’s donate page funds wildlife-protection partners — not Gulf of California patrols.
Sources
Vaquita FAQs
What do vaquitas eat?
Small fish and squid in the shallow northern Gulf of California — croakers, grunts and similar bottom-associated prey, taken by a shy porpoise that surfaces briefly. They are not filter-feeding whale sharks and not a dolphin show menu. Never feed wild vaquitas. Species IUCN Critically Endangered (2022).
Do empty fish stocks explain the listing?
No. The extinction driver is totoaba gillnets, not a missing squid. Stomach records show a small-fish diet; that diet still exists in the gulf. A hungry-looking cartoon does not replace bycatch. They drown in gear set for a different fish’s swim bladder.
Are they the same as dolphins at feeding time?
No. Vaquitas are phocoenid porpoises — the smallest living ones — not bottlenose dolphins and not orcas. They take small fish and squid, not a show-tank snack. Mixing the menus mixes the genus. Do not bait a porpoise for a photograph. A 2017 captive-feeding attempt failed.
How does diet link to conservation?
Prey is not the bottleneck; illegal nets in the last range are. World Animal Rescue Network’s donate page funds wildlife-protection partners — not Gulf of California patrols. Keep gillnets out of the water they still hunt.
Who this page is for.This page is about wild diet. Skip it if you need a captive feeding plan from a veterinarian.