The vaquita, a species of porpoise unique to Mexico\u2019s Gulf of California, is on the verge of extinction.<\/p>\n
Numbers of vaquita are declining rapidly as a result of a booming illegal trade in totoaba fish, a protected species which inhabits the same waters and whose dried swim bladders (known as maw) are believed have medicinal qualities. The vaquita, which is frequent by-catch in the gillnets of fishermen seeking totoaba, now numbers fewer than 60, according to a new report<\/a> by the Environmental Investigation Agency<\/a> (EIA).<\/p>\n Although trade in totoaba has been banned since 1977, it is still sold illegally in Hong Kong and southern China where maw is used as treatment for skin conditions and circulatory problems. One fish can cost up to US$ 50,000. EIA investigators posed as buyers of totoaba maw for the report entitled Collateral Damage<\/em>, finding a vibrant trade at markets in Shantou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been significant efforts to crack down on illegal fishing<\/a> for totoaba and remove gillnets from the range of the vaquita,\u201d said Clare Perry, head of EIA\u2019s oceans campaign, but added that saving the porpoise requires coordinated international action to eliminate the illegal trade in totoaba \u2013 especially in China, its main consumer market. Mexico and the US are important actors as transit countries for the totoaba trade, the report\u2019s authors said.<\/p>\n The report comes as the annual conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species<\/a> (CITES) is set to take place on September 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa, which presents an opportunity to strengthen international cooperation for vaquita and totoaba conservation.<\/p>\n