Totoaba swim bladders. (Crystal Wang for WildAid)
The totoaba is a fish found only in Mexico's Gulf of California and has been listed as a CITES Appendix I species since 1976, prohibiting international trade in any of its products, and listed as critically endangered by the IUCN in 1996. The totoaba also shares this same habitat – recognized as a biosphere reserve – with the world's smallest porpoise, the vaquita. However, decades of destructive fishing practices and recent rampant use of illegal gillnets to poach the totoaba have decimated the vaquita population, with now fewer than 20 individuals estimated to survive today.
WildAid is helping to protect the vaquita and totoaba from extinction by educating consumers in China on the far-reaching impacts of this trade, and by providing training to Chinese customs and enforcement officials to aid in the arrest and conviction of totoaba swim bladder traders. The organization's marine program is also working in the Sea of Cortez in Mexico to improve enforcement of protected areas and prevent unsustainable fishing practices.
