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By Pandora Dewan
Senior Science Reporter
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Customs officials in Arizona have conducted their second largest seizure to date of a haul of endangered fish organs, known colloquially as the "cocaine of the sea."
Enforcement officers estimate that the 91 totoaba swim bladders, weighing in at 109 pounds, would fetch between $910,000 to $1,365,000 on the black market. The organs were hidden within a commercial shipment of frozen fish fillets.
The incident, which took place at the port of entry with Mexico in San Luis, Arizona, on October 17, comes five months after the state's largest totoaba swim bladder seizure on record: a $2.7 million haul of swim bladders recovered in the second-largest seizure in U.S. history.
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Totoaba fish can be found in the Gulf of California in Mexico. According to estimates by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the species can grow up to 6.5 feet in length and weigh up to 220 pounds.
Totoaba is valued for its high collagen content, and some believe that its swim bladder—that is, the organ that helps it stay afloat—can boost fertility and improve circulation and skin vitality, the Department of Justice reports. Thus, the swim bladder of the totoaba is highly prized in traditional Chinese medicine and as a cultural Asian delicacy.
However, the species has been protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act since 1979, making it illegal to possess, transport or sell totoaba. Trade of the species is also prohibited globally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora due to its endangered status.
But trade of this endangered fish still continues, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California has predicted that a single totoaba swim bladder sells for roughly $5,000 on the U.S. black market, rising to more than $10,000 in some Asian countries. As a result, the sought-after species has earned itself the nickname "cocaine of the sea."
Totoaba fishing is not only harmful to the remaining populations of this endangered species, but can also inadvertently threaten other local species with equally threatened populations. Totoaba are primarily caught using gillnets, a fishing method that indiscriminately catches fish by their gills, resulting in high volumes of bycatch.
One species that has been particularly affected by this method is the vaquita porpoise, a critically endangered species that has been described by the World Wildlife Fund as the "world's rarest marine mammal."
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection office has said it will continue to investigate those involved in the recent smuggling attempt of this protected animal. Newsweek has contacted the office for further information via email.
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