Author: Environmental Investigation Agency
Title: Dual Extinction: The Illegal Trade in the Endangered Totoaba and its Impact on the Critically Endangered Vaquita
Summary: The vaquita and the totoaba have much in common: both are critically endangered, both are protected from
international trade under CITES and both are endemic to a relatively small area of the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico. They are of a similar size,
have a similar lifespan and both species are threatened with extinction by the same activity - illegal fishing.
The vaquita is a small porpoise found only in the waters of the northern Gulf of California, off the coast of Mexico. In 1997, its population was estimated at 567 but by 2014 it had plummeted to just 97 animals due to fishery bycatch. Recent evidence based
on acoustic monitoring suggests a 42 per cent decline in the vaquita population between 2013-14. This
decline is attributed to the resurgence of an illegal fishery for totoaba, the swim bladders of which are highly sought in Hong Kong and southern mainland China. Dubbed 'aquatic cocaine' due to the high prices it fetches, the demand for dried totoaba swim bladders is threatening not just the totoaba but also the
vaquita - the world's most endangered marine mammal, which is accidentally caught in the illegal nets set for totoaba.
Details: London: Washington, DC: EIA, 2016. 11p.
Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 1, 2016 at: https://drive.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/EIA-Dual-Extinction.pdf
Year: 2016
Country: International
URL:
Shelf Number: 137714
Keywords:
Endangered SpeciesIllegal FishingIllegal Wildlife TradePorpoiseWildlife Crime |
