Mexico law enforcement detained five fishers for illegally catching endangered totoaba as part of an effort to crack down on the illegal practice and avoid international sanctions.
The arrests were the result of a joint surveillance operation between the Mexican Navy, the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Mexico’s fishing authority – the National Commission for Aquaculture and Fisheries (Conapesca). On 9 April, government agents seized a 26-foot boat and arrested five fishers. An inspection revealed two totoaba specimens, four swim bladders, six totoaba parts, and an 800-meter illegal fishing net.
“With this operation, carried out on a Navy vessel, the three federal agencies that make up the Intergovernmental Sustainability Group of the Upper Gulf of California (GIS) continue working to curb the illegal fishing of totoaba and its derivatives within the framework of current legislation,” Conapesca said in a release highlighting the arrests.
The arrested fishers were transferred to the Attorney General’s Office for Prosecution.
Despite being endangered, fishers frequently target totoaba due to the high value their swim bladder can elicit on the international market.
The Mexican government has been criticized for not doing enough to stop the illegal fish trade, leading the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to sanction it in 2023. The sanctions were lifted after the government adopted an action plan to stop illegal totoaba fishing. In January, the government claimed it had completed the objectives of that action plan, and in March, law enforcement agency removed roughly 6,000 meters of illegal netting being used to capture totoaba.
The government has also partnered with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to deter totoaba fishing.
“Profepa, the Navy, and Conapesca will maintain land and sea patrols to protect the totoaba and the vaquita – both endangered species – and to uphold the rule of law for the benefit of local communities and the environment,” Conapesca said following the most recent arrests.
