Municipality of Ensenada BC: Personnel from the Attorney General's Office (FGR) in Baja California secured a bag that contained 43 pieces of the aquatic wildlife species named Totoaba Macdonaldi.
When conducting surveillance tours in the town of Puertecitos, municipality of Ensenada, Baja California, elements of the Federal Ministerial Police (PFM) located the bag that contained the swim bladders of the referred species. Puertecitos is south of San Felipe, BC on #5 which runs adjacent to the Golfo de California.
The secured bladders, which are trafficked on the black market to Asia, were put at the disposal of the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), which is part of a research folder, for the probable commission of a crime against biodiversity.
The aquatic species Totoaba Mcdonaldi is classified as endemic (distributed in a small geographical area not found naturally in other parts of the world) and in danger of extinction. They are a prohibited species to take and all parts are illegal to be in possession of. The poaching of this species is also leading to the rapid demise of the endemic vaquita porpoise, which is currently at critical numbers and found only in the waters of the northern Golfo de California. There could be as few as 6 to 10 individuals left.
The dried bladders can be worth as much as $20,000 to $80,000 US Dollars in China and the poaching and trafficking of them is big business for Mexican DTOs.
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What do they do with those bladders? Wouldn’t it be dumb to just throw them away? They can’t revive the animal at this point. Might as well get the money for the government.
ReplyDeleteGood News: UABC released 2,400 totoaba juveniles into the upper Sea of Cortez, from San Felipe BC to be exact yesterday, I believe, which were raised in captivity at the marine facilities in Ensenada.
DeleteIt is true, the Vaquita probably cannot be saved at this point. However, because the Totoaba bladders are worth so much on the black market the poaching will continue. The Totoaba fish itself used to be extremely prolific but is now protected, in an effort to keep their species going too. Unfortunately, the poachers gillnets catch not only the Vaquita but dolphins, turtles, sea lions , and , of course Whales. The other sad fact is that the bladders are harvested at sea and the rest of the carcass of the totoaba is thrown overboard, the meat is not even kept to feed these poor families, as it is highly illegal to be caught with any part of the fish. it is just heartbreaking to see these people living in extreme poverty and then walk a pristine remote beach covered with dried up totoaba fish , 4-5 feet long, washed up on a high tide or storm. At least birds, see critters and coyotes feed on the remains. In the past (40s, 50's and 60's) Totoaba were highly prized game fishes reaching huge sizes........then listen to the outboard motors drone on at night until dawn knowing what the fisherman might be up to, aye aye aye.
I also want to point out that there ARE plenty of fisherman trying to play by the rules, but you can just imagine the pressure on them in small communities that are in the area; also many of them claim "outsiders" have traveled to the area for poaching activities putting even more pressure on the legal fisheries.
Yaqui, that is great news! I was just wondering about these specific bladders that were just confiscated? What do they do with them, just throw them out?
DeleteHonestly, I don't know.
DeleteSince they are in the hands of Mexican Gov't, it is questionable, aye ? they might say they were burned up with another ton of weed for all we know or taken home as " souvenirs" :(
What they government needs to do is cut off their culos of every motherfacker they catch with bladders, unless they want to say who is their boss so the boss can pay for his putas chingaderas.
DeleteThe Big Bosses have houses, cars, hoes, bars and they boss the Fishermen's Unions, looks like the government do not want to find the motherfackers. Name names Yaqui.
10:30 confiscated bladders make it to their destiny, and you k ow it, same as many of the tons of drugs caught by the government.
DeleteWhat they need to do is SINK ALL THE FISHING BOATS AND FACK UP ALL THE FISHING NETS and spare no one, until the real fishers learn to defend their turf. They accept to be dominated by a few Fishers Union leaders, they need to fix that, maybe hang a few of them union leaders from the Union Hall, it has never failed, mussolini, Ceaucesscu, and I hope josiph broz, Tito of Yugoslavia, deposed because of the ugliest car he invented and let loose on the world, The Yugo. Even his country got quartered into smaller "nations".
The vaquita is one of my dream animals, to be extincted in my life, I am so sad. The unnecessary extinction of life is a hallmark of the age we live in.
ReplyDeleteOne of the unsaid causes has to be the damning of the Colorado River which is on the USA side. A perfect storm of our governments' incapable responsibility, people's need for money/greed, and the delicate nature of life.
Oh, don't get me started on the Colorado River system !
Delete3:10 Well, get started, NOW! most of The Colorado River is on the US and they do not give a fack what happens in Mexico after it leaves their beloved country.
DeleteI know this is going to sound messed up but they killed the animal already the harm is done so now the bladders go to waste might as well sale them to invest the money trying to save las vaquitas they have got alot of dried bladders about 4months ago sale them to the asians get the rest of the vaquitas to some kind of sea world to let them breed and repopulate. Payed for by the money from ther fallen comrades bladders.
ReplyDeleteI do believe there have been efforts made to breed them in captivity, maybe in La Paz, but I will have to check.
DeleteWhere do they get those fish? I'm blind in one eye kind of hard to read everything , its tender
ReplyDeleteBetween Baja California (not USA) y El golfo or coast de sonora
DeleteThe Mar de Cortez,
Deletebut a bunch of assholes call it other names "to save it".
Fucking terrible. Kill each other, get rid of the bad ppl, but endangered species?? Those poachers should be speared through the stomach
ReplyDeleteAgree with you 💯
DeleteI actually "hurts" to know what Mexicans are doing to themselves and nation. Mexicans have already destroyed the tourist gem of Acapulco and severely damaged many other tourist venues.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago I spoke with a "gringa" business woman who had lived in Puerto Vallarta for over 25 years. She told me of the network of good friends she left behind, of her great business investments, and her of involvement in civic affairs.
She tearfully indicated that the corruption, increased narco-cartel based violence and paranoid breakdown in Mexican society "forced" her to sell her properties and flee Mexico and all her friends.
Well, her story fits in with what the totoabas' extermination indicates.
If this kind of destructive (suicidal?) : tourism, ecological, historic, archaeological, behavior was constrained and reparable, I could live with it. But, I am just an old Chicano who can only watch and pray about what Mexicans themselves are going to do with these situations. My guess is "nothing" substantive because Mexicans are too far damaged to have the will and power to save "anything" at all.
Mexico-Watcher
Si señor, heartbreaking.......I do some voluntary archeo work.....the apathy is appalling. Mexico is as historically, culturally complex as anywhere in the world, right here at our fingertips for all to digest, absorb and appreciate and to watch and know so much of what we love about it be lost.......sigh, indescribable to those you don't know it or worse yet, Don't BELIEVE IT !
Delete9:50 I guess you were there enjoying the good times when international drug traffickers of ILl refuse starting their takeover of everything Mexico to traffick their drugs to the US,
DeleteThe investigations they baptized Iran/Contra diluted their drug trafficking and assassinations, but we remember.
Very few Mexicans were there at the top, even some Chicanos, like Kiki Camarena. Hector Berrellez, Cele Castillo, Sandy Gonzalez.
Mexicans had no reason to believe the US could be so corrupt or so infiltrated by corruption, but there you have it.
Enjoy the fruits of their labors.
3:22 if it wasn't for apathy, there would be millions more deaths already, and even more hundreds of refugees on the US who would have no plans to ever come back to Mexico,
DeleteTHAT IS THE ONLY REASON WE DON'T HAVE FULL BLOWN WAR IN MEXICO, - --but there are plans on the US for every contingency.
--For some it takes a wall for starters,
at a billion dollars per mile of wall...
I wonder if those idiots realized that they are killing their own $ supply.lol
ReplyDeleteDamn Chinese people! Why cant they just be drug addicts like white people and not hurt the environment! Geez trying to make america great again and you guys keep coming at me with dry bladders.
ReplyDelete11:07 the immense majority of drug addicts, on the US are functioning drug addicts, it is like the winos and the hobos on the US do not consume all the alcohol the country sells and buys.
DeleteMany home drinkers, maybe more than bar customers too.
Like all Gods creatures man destroys all things. One thing that is evident in our nature.
ReplyDeleteE42
They get them from China.
ReplyDelete"They" don't get them from China. The Totoaba fish and the Vaquita porpoise live in the upper Golfo de California ( Sea of Cortez) and the traffickers SEND the dried bladders to China for mucho dinero.
Delete9:41 what is the price for nuts?
DeleteVaquita bladder traffickers' could make good substitutes, and after the operation could go to China and work as prostitutes.
Weren't there 30 left hahaha 13 are imitation!!
ReplyDeleteAcapulco is fished out, last month they were pulling in juvinile Marlin. Where I used to spearfish in Revolcadero all you see is graffiti on the rocks. Too many scumbags.
ReplyDeleteSo many places are. I fish and dive......the evidence of destruction is everywhere. Plus what those hooka divers do, omg.......do you know about all the ray fins that are stamped out and sold as scallops ? Oralé !
DeleteWith no tourism you can't blame the Cacapulkas for the lack of fish, and I doubt the sellers of authentic Mexican Sombreros made in China have a lot of appetite for fish.
DeleteThe disappearance of fish which had not happened in spite of over a hundred years of exploitation could be climate related, that is a real killer.
10:33 we'd like to see your diving photos,
DeleteI suppose you will be wearing a mask and all,
No problem, legs and a small bikini will do.
Yaqui: Thanks for all your field research efforts. I can only imagine what you must go through to dig up some of these interesting stories.
ReplyDeleteMexico-Watcher
Asian market is responsible for the demise of every endangered critter alive. Rhino horn, elephant ivory, shark fin, tiger penis.... it’s because they have tiny dicks and they haven’t tried viagra yet. If Biafra was smart they would do an add campaign saying, leave the animals alone and take the blue pill.
ReplyDelete