China nets 11 people for smuggling US$119 million worth of rare totoaba fish for traditional medicine market
- Prosecutors in Guangdong say suspects shipped in nearly 20,000 swim bladders
- Three-year operation brought contraband to China through Cambodia and Vietnam
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Authorities in China are prosecuting 11 people for smuggling 800 million yuan (US$119 million) worth of Mexican totoaba fish swim bladders, one of China’s biggest hauls of a trafficked endangered species used in traditional medicine.
Mexico has for years urged China to tackle totoaba smuggling, as fears grew that illegal fishing in the Gulf of California was also killing off the world’s smallest porpoise, the near-extinct Vaquita marina.
Jiangmen city procuratorate in southern Guangdong province said the 11 were suspected of smuggling nearly 20,000 swim bladders from Mexico.
The smuggling operation, led by an individual named Liang Weihua, transported the fish parts in “large quantities” and sold them in China.
“This crime took place over more than three years,” the Guangdong agency said on its website.
The smuggling route involved countries including Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, it said, adding that the case was under further investigation.
Numbers of the now critically endangered totoaba fish have been in steep decline since the 1940s, largely because of their reputed healing powers.
The fish’s swim bladder can fetch up to US$20,000 on the black market in China, where it is believed to have beautifying properties and cure a host of ailments, from arthritis pain to discomfort during pregnancy.
They are so prized some Chinese display them in cases in their homes.
The Mexican navy and environmentalist groups patrol the Gulf of California to detect illegal fishing. Environmental group Sea Shepherd said its sea patrols were attacked this earlier this year – one ship was hit by rocks and firebombs thrown by dozens of people in 20 boats in February.
The nets were believed by campaigners to have claimed a collateral victim, the Vaquita marina, which like the totoaba is endemic to the Gulf of California and is near extinction.
Although China has made efforts to cut down the sale of illegal wildlife products, smuggling continues as demand is fuelled by a thriving black market.
Pangolin populations, for instance, have been ravaged by a surge in demand, particularly from mainland China, and are among the most heavily trafficked mammals in the world.
Last month, Hong Kong officials unveiled a record eight tonnes of pangolin scales found in a container from Nigeria, as the timid animal continued to be sought for its meat and unproven medicinal properties.
In November, China said it postponed a controversial decision to partially lift a 1993 ban on trading tiger bones and rhinoceros horns, following criticism from conservationists who likened the decision to signing a death warrant for the endangered species.
