TO POOR MEXICAN FISHERMEN THE TOTOABA FISH IS THE COCAINE OF THE SEA OF CORTEZ

It is illegal to fish for the endangered Totoaba fish whose bladders are highly prized in China

It is illegal to fish for the endangered Totoaba fish, but tell that to poor Mexican fishermen. The bladders of the Totoaba fish are highly prized in China and other parts of Southeast Asia. Thus, to fishermen, those fish have become the cocaine of the Sea of Cortez.

From time to time, Mexican authorities have found and seized the bladders in Mexicali. Last Friday, according to El Sol de Tijuana, Mexican authorities made the largest seizure of Totoaba bladders ever. After stopping a suspicious car in Mexicali, they found a cooler containing 29 dried bladders in the passenger seat, another cooler in the back seat with 100 more bladders, and another 100 in the trunk. The catch amounted to around 100 kilos.

One kilo of Totoaba bladders is valued at $60000 to $100,000. The dried bladders are smuggled into the U.S. for shipment to China from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Mexico banned the fishing of Totoaba fish in 1975 when it was declared an endangered species. But poor Mexican fishermen keeppoaching the fish because of their cocaine-like value.