The fight against the illegal totoaba trade is evolving, and Sea Shepherd’s twenty four hour a day presence is making it possible. By maintaining sentry ships in the Vaquita Refuge, we protect its most critical waters—the Zero Tolerance Area (ZTA)—the last stronghold of the critically endangered vaquita porpoise.
Totoaba, an endangered fish, is targeted for its swim bladder, which sells for tens of thousands of dollars in China. The same illegal gillnets used to catch totoaba also ensnare and kill vaquitas, pushing them to the brink of extinction.
This constant defense allows our partners in the Mexican government to strike outside the ZTA, where they just seized:
• 9,000 meters of illegal totoaba gillnets
• 72 dead totoaba, rendered unusable to prevent illegal sale
• 23.5 kg of totoaba swim bladders, a prized black-market commodity
• Seven live totoaba successfully released back into the wild
Now, with the Bob Barker—sister ship to the Seahorse—en route to patrol beyond the ZTA, Sea Shepherd is expanding its offensive efforts. These joint operations are dismantling the black-market trade, cutting off cartel revenue, and turning the tide against totoaba poaching.
