The copyright of the original article belongs to the WeChat public account
"Bring science home" all
This is the story of the totoaba (top) and the Kawan porpoise (bottom) both on the verge of extinction
Written by | Proxima Centauri
Review|Skin
Fish maw is a common ingredient in winter pots. Many diners covet its elastic texture and sticky soup as a nourishment.
Essentially, fish maw is the swim bladder, an organ used to regulate the ups and downs of bony fishes, and its species are divided according to the species. Among the fish maw, there are a few that are not only huge in size, but also can be used to supplement the body according to rumors, so they are invaluable.
Among the fish maw Pro Max versions, a totoaba fish maw, also known as "cocaine in the sea", was once inflated to an exaggerated price of $85,000 per kilogram!
Valuable totoaba fish maw (Source: USFWS)
As the expensive but dangerous name suggests, the trade in totoaba fish maw has wiped out many marine creatures, the most alarming of which is the Jiawan porpoise.
A fish and a dolphin, what connection can they have?
Totoaba lives in the Gulf of California in Mexico and has an average length of 2 meters. With such a large size, the size of the swim bladder is naturally not small. At first this fish did not attract the attention of fishermen until the appearance of the golden fish gelatin. This swim bladder comes from the unique Chinese yellow-lipped fish (Bahaba taipingensis), which is a precious product in fish maw, and it is rumored that this thing has the purpose of calming the nerves and nourishing the brain.
Golden fish maw, also known as yellow fish maw (see watermark for the source)
On the one hand, due to the lucrative profitability of the yellow-lipped fish, the fishermen went crazy to catch it, and the population of the fish plummeted, and on the other hand, with the settlement and migration of the Chinese on the east coast of the Pacific, the traders found that the swim bladder of the Kawan totoaba was similar to the yellow-lipped fish in both shape and size, which was simply a perfect substitute.
Totoaba in the Gulf of California, non-flat replacement of yellow-lipped fish (Source: NOAA)
As a result, local fishermen in Mexico have set off a frenzy of fishing for totoaba in the Gulf, and only 1 pound of dried totoaba fish maw can bring them half a year's usual fishing income.
Fisherman: Oh, this heavenly riches
（图源：Tony Reyes, San Felipe, Baja California）
They pulled up drift gillnets over a large area in the narrow waters of the Gulf of California. It is a simple, brutal, wait-and-see method of fishing, trapping fish of a certain size according to the aperture of the net.
Schematic diagram of the gillnet (Source: see watermark)
The fish are like fish bones, trapped in the net straight and straight, which is where the "thorn" in the name of the drift gillnet comes from.
Fish like fish bones (Source: Wikipedia)
According to the size of the fish, the accuracy is naturally not high, and it is not only the Kawan totoaba that is trapped together. In the same area of the sea is also home to the world's smallest cetacean: the vaquita. With an average length of only 1.5 metres and a small head, the porpoise's signature dark circles and black lip line earned them the nickname "Giant Panda of the Sea" – a nickname they live up to in terms of appearance and rarity.
The smoky Gulf porpoise is very rare (Source: see watermark)
Due to their overlapping ranges and similar size, drift gillnets used to catch totoaba can also trap porpoises. They are timid by nature, and when trapped in the net, they will subconsciously struggle desperately and eventually suffocate to death. Data shows that for every 4~5 totoaba caught, a Gawan porpoise will be killed.
Gulf of California Region (Source: NOAA)
Starting from the fishing of Kawan totoaba in the 70s of the 20th century, within a few years, Kawan totoaba and the innocent lying gun Kawan porpoise were both listed as endangered species. According to the latest statistics of IUCN, at present, the global number of Jiawan porpoises is only 10~13, and the risk of extinction is extremely high.
Today, the law prohibits the fishing of totoaba in the Gulf. Studies have also shown that the swim bladder of this type of fish is slightly higher than that of other fish bladders except for the collagen content, and there is no difference between the amino acid composition and the ordinary fish bladder, and their tonic effect is obviously exaggerated by the traders. Despite this, there are still news reports of illegal totoaba fishing, and the number of porpoises in the Bay has remained at around 10 for several years......
This story comes from the article "Whale Hunting in Iceland" about the Icelandic Whale Museum in Issue 12 of Everything Magazine. When the editor interviewed the marine biologist in the museum: "", the other party told this embarrassing story. The editors present it in the text along with the lovely stories of more cetacean species in the ocean. She hopes to use this to arouse more young readers to protect marine life.
Resources:
1.https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/vaquita
2.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/jan/11/china-aquatic-cocaine-vaquita-totoaba-mexico-endangered-extinct
3.https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/02/09/466185043/chinese-taste-for-fish-bladder-threatens-tiny-porpoise-in-mexico