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Agence France-Presse

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.
Fish dinner for mum and dad costs Chinese chefs US$1,500
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.
Animal-lover kept endangered species in ‘slow euthanasia’
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.


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Conservation

China nets 11 people for smuggling US$119 million worth of rare totoaba fish for traditional medicine market

Demand in Chinese medicine for dried swim bladders of totoaba fish is driving a huge black market which can be lucrative for smugglers. Photo: AFP

This handout photo released by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and taken on February 1992 in Santa Clara Gulf, Sonora,Mexico shows a "Vaquita Marina" (Phocoena sinus) apparently dead after having been caught by fishermen in nets for Totoaba fish (Totoaba macdonaldi). Environmentalists of WWF warned that Mexico's vaquita marina, the world's smallest porpoise, was close to extinction as the government reported that only 60 were now left. The vaquita's fate has been linked to another critically endangered sea creature, the totoaba, a fish that has been illegally caught for its swim bladder, which is dried and sold on the black market in China. / AFP PHOTO / WWF-OMAR VIDAL / Omar Vidal / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / WWF/Omar Vidal" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS [08AUGUST2018 FEATURES] CREDIT: AFP

‘15,000 pangolins slaughtered’ for 7 tonnes of scales seized in China

Pangolins, whose scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine, are believed to be the world’s most trafficked mammals. Photo: Steve Pheby

More than 7 tonnes of pangolin scales smuggled into China from Africa were seized at the customs in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in recent months, local authorities revealed on Wednesday. The sheer amount of the scales, taken from different species of pangolins, meant that up to 18,000 of the animals were killed for that. The cost of the scales from Africa is only about 340 yuan/kg, while they are selling on the Chinese black market for up to 5,600 yuan/kg. In Chinese medicine, the scales are believed to have medicinal value. Photo: people.com.cn

Sea Shepherd environment group ship ‘attacked’ by Mexican fishermen in Gulf of California

A screen grab released by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society of the vessel Farley Mowat surrounded by fishing boats off Mexico’s Gulf of California. Photo: AP

File picture of Vaquita. Proyecto Vaquita Marina

In this Jan. 9, 2019 screen grab released by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, fishermen in small boats pursue the vessel Farley Mowat as it was patrolling to seize illegal gill nets inside the reserve designed to protect the vaquita marina porpoise in Mexico's Gulf of California. Fishermen in the Gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, have long complained about environmentalists trying to protect the world's smallest and most endangered porpoise.(Alex Beldi/Sea Shepherd via AP)

HK$8 million worth of rhino horns seized at airport by Hong Kong customs

This is a record haul for rhino horns found on arriving air passengers. Photo: ISD

Hong Kong Customs holds a press briefing on the seizure of a total of 33 unmanifested rhino horns, 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets, worth about $17.4 million, inside a container shipped to Hong Kong yesterday. Pictured at Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department Tsing Yi Station, Tsing Yi. 15NOV11

China’s smiling angel: Small victory for Yangtze River porpoise is big wave to take endangered species forward

Tianezhou Oxbow Nature Reserve in Hubei province is the place where the Yangtze finless porpoise has started a slow and fragile recovery. Photo: AFP

FILE - In this July 8, 2017 file photo, a woman with the World Wildlife Fund carries a paper mache replica of the critically endangered porpoise known as the "vaquita marina" during an event in front of the National Palace calling on the government to take additional steps to protect the world's smallest marine mammal, in Mexico City. The vaquita is the world’s smallest and most endangered porpoise, and lives only in the Gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez. Experts say as few as 15 of the marine mammals remain in the wild, and none have ever been held in captivity. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

This picture taken on November 10, 2018 shows a Yangtze finless porpoise swimming in an oxbow along in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Hubei province. - One of the world's few freshwater porpoise sub-species and only aquatic mammal left in China's longest river, the Yangtze finless porpoise is critically endangered due to pollution, overfishing, hydroelectric dams and shipping traffic. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) / TO GO WITH: China-environment-conservation-animal-porpoise, FEATURE by Kelly WANG

This picture taken on November 10, 2018 shows a Yangtze finless porpoise playing with a worker in a pool at Baiji dolphinarium in Wuhan. - One of the world's few freshwater porpoise sub-species and only aquatic mammal left in China's longest river, the Yangtze finless porpoise is critically endangered due to pollution, overfishing, hydroelectric dams and shipping traffic. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) / TO GO WITH: China-environment-conservation-animal-porpoise, FEATURE by Kelly WANG

News

China

People & Culture

Prosecutors in Guangdong say suspects shipped in nearly 20,000 swim bladders
Three-year operation brought contraband to China through Cambodia and Vietnam


Prosecutors in Guangdong say suspects shipped in nearly 20,000 swim bladders in a three-year operation that brought contraband to China through Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.


Crime in China

China nets 11 people for smuggling US$119 million worth of rare totoaba fish for traditional medicine market

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Prosecutors in Guangdong say suspects shipped in nearly 20,000 swim bladders Three-year operation brought contraband to China through Cambodia and Vietnam

Prosecutors in Guangdong say suspects shipped in nearly 20,000 swim bladders

Three-year operation brought contraband to China through Cambodia and Vietnam