Tijuana, March 26.- In a federal government operation near the Gulf of California, three nets used for illegal totoaba fishing were removed, and 10 totoaba specimens and two sea turtles were released alive.
The work was carried out 37 kilometers north of the port of San Felipe by members of the Ministry of the Navy (SEMAR), the Federal Attorney's Office for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), and the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (CONAPESCA).
A statement reported that 25 totoaba specimens were found in the nets, weighing a total of 875 kilos. To prevent illegal harvesting of totoaba, the bodies of these fish were rendered useless.
Federal authorities detailed that the seized nets had a total length of 6,000 meters: two of them measured 3,000 meters together and contained the 25 caught specimens, while the third net, approximately 3,000 meters long, contained no fish.
Totoaba
The capture of totoaba is prohibited, as it is a species of endangered wildlife; its capture also threatens the vaquita marina, a mammal endemic to the Gulf of California and in danger of extinction, federal authorities emphasize.
They add that the illegal capture of totoaba is due to the international trafficking of its swim bladder, so this operation is part of the Mexican Government's Compliance Action Plan to prevent illegal fishing and trade of totoaba.
CHALK
They indicate that this plan is implemented through the Upper Gulf of California Intragovernmental Sustainability Group (GIS), whose main objective is to protect the vaquita marina.
Finally, they emphasize that coordination between Profepa, Semar, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through Conapesca, and collaboration with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, have led to increased patrols and surveillance in the area, with the goal of eradicating the use of gillnets in the Upper Gulf of California.
