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Totoaba Swim Bladders

Photo of totoaba swim bladders in market
(Credit: Earnest Tse, Alamy Stock Photo)

Totoaba is so profitable that it is known as the “cocaine of the sea.” Their swim bladders are sold on the Chinese black market for traditional medicine and cosmetics. High demand, lax law enforcement, corruption, organized crime cartels, and lack of surveillance infrastructure, as well as crushing poverty in the fishing villages, all contribute to continued illegal fishing.

Tags: Fisheries