Chinese nationals arrested in US after smuggling totoaba swim bladders worth $3.7 mil from Mexico

[rwsanders]

Source: Mongabay

According to a report this week by Quartz, two Chinese nationals were arrested last month in the state of California with $3.7-million-worth of totoaba swim bladders that they had smuggled from Mexico.

Despite having no proven health benefits, totoaba swim bladders or “maws” are highly prized by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. But the gillnets used to catch totoaba in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, also known as the Upper Gulf of California, frequently ensnare vaquita, the world’s smallest porpoise, causing them to drown. This has caused such a precipitous decline in the vaquita population in the Sea of Cortez — the species only known range — that gillnets have been banned by the Mexican government. The ban hasn’t stopped the cartels that have taken over the illegal totoaba maw trade, however, and the vaquita’s decline continues. By some estimates, there are only 10 vaquita left in the world.

Read more: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/chinese-nationals-arrested-in-us-after-smuggling-totoaba-swim-bladders-worth-3-7-million-from-mexico/

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For those who may not have a background on this issue, a few points:

1. The Vaquita is a unique, shy, beautiful porpoise who is a one of a kind. There are only a few left, current estimates say less than 10. This isn't losing a regional population of a species with a broader range, vaquitas are only found in the Gulf of California. They are so shy, they were only seen by scientists in the 1970's and few pictures exist that are not of dead vaquitas.

2. The best thing for the vaquita and the fisherfolk would be a NO GO reserve. Research has shown that marine reserves IMPROVE fishing in the surrounding waters.

3. Species with historically low populations DO NOT have the inbreeding problems that result in other species that experience genetic bottlenecks. The current hypothesis is that all deleterious genes have been eliminated.

4. EXTINCTION IS FOREVER!!

5. Sea Shepherd needs your help.

6. This is NOT a historic fishery, as fishermen came to the area primarily to fish for the totoaba to send to the Chinese. In the past the fish were left to rot while the bladders were shipped.

7. Fishing gear that is safe for the vaquita does exist and sustainable catch should be supported so the fisherfolks can make a living. The government of Mexico has held back from permitting the new gear (reasons unknown).

[SunSeeker]

1. K & R for exposure.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

2. We should also note that the totoaba fish is a critically endangered species as well.

Totoaba
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totoaba

(Snip)

The totoaba or totuava (Totoaba macdonaldi) is a species of marine fish, a very large member of the drum family Sciaenidae that is endemic to the Gulf of California in Mexico.[3] It is the only species in the genus Totoaba. Formerly abundant and subject to an intensive fishery, the totoaba has become rare, and is listed on CITES Appendix I as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, and as 'endangered' under the Endangered Species Act.
-------
The totoaba can grow up to 2 m (6.6 ft) in length and 100 kg (220 lb) in weight, making it the largest species in the drum family, together with the similar-sized Chinese bahaba.

.........

[rwsanders]

15. It is, but someone is successfully breeding them in captivity (which is worse for the vaquita)

and the totoaba isn't nearly as cute.

But the Chinese are still at fault and I'm still waiting for an apology from Jefferson Starship for the song "Ride the Tiger"

[KY_EnviroGuy]

17. One would think the Chinese could farm-raise their own damn sacrificial fish.

(snip from Wiki)

This trade once focused on the Chinese bahaba, but as its population became depleted, the trade shifted to the related totoaba.

Although that one is critically endangered as well. Could we provide them with financial incentives to just stick with herbs?...

[rwsanders]

19. I say ship free viagra.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Sorry to say it, but Chinese traditional "medicine" is a plague on planet. Tigers, rhinos, vaquitas

[pansypoo53219]

4. dead animals ARE NOT MEDICINE! time to hunt some pandas you morons.

pandas make the best sleep aid(sarcasm).

[Igel]

7. Heparin is still produced mostly from animals.

Some forms of insulin and levothyroxine are, too.

For decades the *only* source of a number of medical preparations--including vaccines--were animals. Quadrupeds, in fact.

Last I heard--it's been a few years, but probably not a decade--eggs were still being used for some vaccines. Some come with warnings that if you're allergic to albumin you can't be vaccinated. Vegans would not be pleased. In some cases there were (are?) no non-vegan alternatives; it's a good thing in some states they no longer have control over what's done with their bodies.

There's a point to be made, a distinction to be drawn, but broad generalizations cover the distinctions between useful and useless more than point out the foolishness of and the lack of adequate and necessary reasons for some traditional animal-based meds.

[pansypoo53219]

13. eggs are not wild animals. i have seen chinese slaughter bins. yes, we fucked up frogs, but we don't

tigers or pangolins.
vegans are screwed. the only safe cooking oils are butter or lard. lol.

[in2herbs]

5. I agree that any animal based medicine is a plauge on the planet and the US should stop

importing any animal based medicine. There are plenty of super effective plant-based herbal remedies.

[dalton99a]

6. +1. And lions, sun bears, musk deer, pangolins, sea turtles, ...

Chinese medicine containing animal parts is absolute bullshit that should be outlawed

[Blue_Tires]

12. +1

We're killing this planet...

And why is "traditional" Chinese "medicine" still a thing in the goddamned 21st century? Do they still use leeches and bloodletting, too??

[Coventina]

18. I am NOT sorry to say Chinese "medicine" is a plague.

Fuck Chinese medicine and its magical thinking and destructive practices.

[Vegas Roller]

8. I had never even heard of these

Always something new to learn on DU!

[rwsanders]

16. They weren't reported in scientific literature until 1958.

The totoaba fishery drove fishermen north into the gulf in the '30's and 40's, the discovery of the vaquita was based on skulls. They were first known and seen by the outside world in the 70's. By 1995 Jean Michel Cousteau had worked a deal with Mexico to protect them as the population was already in decline.
I knew they were endangered, but thought there was a small, stable population like the Northern Atlantic Right Whale. I just learned a few months ago how bad things are for the vaquita. So I put all other environmental contributions on hold and have been sending Sea Shepherd a monthly, modest contribution.

Oh, and if you go to look up more about the vaquita on-line, many of the pictures you will see are photo shopped. Photos of the vaquita are rare and you'll notice that the same few turn up again and again. There are a few artists creating some amazing paintings as a stand in.

[tonekat]

9. The Chinese Will Destroy the Planet

I value the animals they kill for their superstition a lot more than those people who do this.

[Duppers]

11. +100

I'm been posting re how they and the Koreans do not value any animals - look at their despicable dog meat festivals.

Donate to the Sea Shepherd, folks. Every bit helps ALL cetaceans on the planet.
https://seashepherd.org/

[oldsoftie]

10. Total idiocy. Its 2019 for Gods sake. nt

[Judi Lynn]

14. Found an article regarding the same event, written in Spanish, subjected it to google translation:

They captured two Chinese tourists with swishes from Totoaba, would cost up to $ 3.76 million USD
The Orange police in California reported that the individuals transported 132 pieces of this fish that is considered "the cocaine of the sea"
June 19, 2019

Authorities in Orange County, California, reported that they stopped a brown Toyota van last month for speeding, but when they checked it they found that two tourists of Chinese origin were traveling with a forbidden cargo of totoaba fish, so they were stopped .

The two men, Chinese nationals named Yikang Liang and Haoyu Huang, said they had traveled to the United States to buy clothes , but that version collapsed when they found 132 totoaba.

The men said they had lived in Mexico for years, but none could answer questions in basic Spanish . And the three large boxes in the back of the truck seemed inconsistent with the story they were telling.

Liang and Huang had entered the United States from Mexico in separate vehicles two days earlier, 17 minutes apart . The deputy began to suspect that they could be drug traffickers. He asked for a backup, then he made his police dog sniff.

In the boxes, the officers found the dry bladders of 132 totoabas, a fish in serious danger of extinction , weighing approximately 45 kilos (104 pounds) . According to the request for the order, which featured the Quartz portal, the totoaba swimming bladders are sold for $ 20,000 to $ 80,000 per kilogram , "rivaling the price of gold and cocaine" , that is why they are denominates "the cocaine of the sea".

. . .

The swim bladders are found in some bone fish. They are filled with gas to help the fish maintain their buoyancy, which is why they are also called "swish".

There is a belief among some Chinese citizens that swim bladders have revitalizing and aphrodisiac properties. Some even store them as investments. It is such a lucrative business that the authorities believe that members of the Sinaloa cartel have entered the totoaba market.

. . .

The totoaba, also known as white croaker, is a species of endemic fish from the northern Gulf of California, in Mexican territory , whose specimens can reach 2 meters in length and weigh up to 150 kilograms.

Currently, the referred animal is considered to be at risk of extinction and is included in the list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

. . .

In this sense, totoaba traffic is carried out through several routes that connect Mexico and the United States with the Asian continent.

Also, the gill nets for totoabas fishing represent one of the greatest threats to the vaquita marina , the smallest species of porpoise in the world, also endemic to this area, and it is estimated that there are about twenty specimens .

https://www.infobae.com/america/eeuu/2019/06/19/capturaron-a-dos-turistas-chinos-con-buches-de-totoaba-costarian-hasta-376-millones-de-usd/



Not only is the totoaba is illegal, the vaquita is practically extinct. Unforgivable.

Hope question these two dirtbags will provide names of the organization, have basically run out of time, already.