[Animals] Totoaba: the most expensive fish in the world lives in the Sea of ​​Cortez and is in danger of extinction

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The totoaba swim bladder is valued on the Asian market at more than $8,000. It is the most expensive fish in the world and lives only in Mexico
The Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortez, is home to diverse marine life. The totoaba is one of the endemic species of this area of the Mexican Pacific. Fishing for this species was key to the development of human settlements near the waters of the mentioned ocean. However, the fish in question was discovered by Chinese immigrants in the 1920s.

According to the Naturalista database, the totoaba is the most expensive fish in the world. This is due to the swim bladder, or "buche", that it has. This organ is valued, on the Chinese black market, at up to more than 8 thousand USD. Po[CENSORED]r belief indicates that this part of the fish has healing properties.

The situation described has meant that, for several years, the illegal fishing of totoaba has increased disproportionately, leading it to the danger of extinction. The problem, in fact, extends to other species, since in the nets, destined to capture the totoaba, other animals tend to get trapped. This is what we know about it.

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Totoaba, the huge and valuable fish of the Gulf of California

The totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) is a fish endemic to the Gulf of California, Mexico. It belongs to the Sciaenidae family. Other po[CENSORED]r names to refer to this animal are corvina, corvina blanca, tambor and roncador. The last two allude to the sound that the fish produces precisely because of its swim bladder.

According to the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), the totoaba can reach 2 meters in length and 100 kilograms. It is, then, a large fish with a protruding lower jaw. Its diet places the species as carnivorous, since it is based on crabs, shrimp, sardines and other small fish.

Naturalista mentions that, originally, the distribution of the totoaba covered from the mouth of the Colorado River to Bahía Concepción on the west coast of the Gulf. However, the space of this fish has been reduced over the decades. Currently, it is estimated that it can only be found in the Upper Gulf of California.

This fish is quite long-lived, since it can live from 25 to 50 years. That said, the sexual maturity of their species is reached between 6 and 7. Once they reach reproductive age, it is common for females to head to the Colorado River Delta to lay their eggs throughout the months of March. and May.

Illegal fishing and its consequences on other species
As I said, initially, totoaba fishing was important for the development of Mexican communities in the states of Sonora and Baja California. However, over time the idea spread that the swim bladder was capable of serving in the treatment of various diseases. This caused Asian vessels to begin illegal fishing for the species.

For traditional Chinese medicine, the totoaba swim bladder has healing and aphrodisiac properties. Despite this, it has not been proven, by any scientific study, that these qualities actually have the promised effects. As if that were not enough, the same part of the fish is valued as a gourmet food in different countries of the Asian continent. And, even more, there are those who collect the bladder and make significant investments with it.

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All this illegal exploitation has pushed the totoaba to be vulnerable to the danger of extinction, as indicated by the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, for its acronym in English). The problem, as was said at the beginning, does not rest on this species, since it has been seen that other animals are trapped in the nets made for the exclusive capture of this fish. The most alarming case is that of the vaquita marina, a cetacean endemic to Mexico in serious danger of disappearing.

Efforts to protect the totoaba and, consequently, the vaquita marina have been underway for several decades now. From 1940 to 1955 there was a closed season declaration to protect its reproduction. During the 1970s, different refuge zones were established and in the 1990s the use of mesh was prohibited in these areas. To date, work continues to save these species, but the danger of extinction remains latent.

https://www.ngenespanol.com/animales/totoaba-donde-vive-y-por-que-es-el-pez-mas-caro-del-mundo/