The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has recommended the suspension of all commercial trade of species on its protected list with Mexico, citing the country’s failure to provide an adequate plan to protect its native totoaba fish. Totoaba fishing, which is illegal and highly lucrative due to the fish’s bladder being valued in Asian markets for traditional medicine, has brought the vaquita porpoise to the brink of extinction in the Gulf of California.
Although Mexico presented a plan to protect the totoaba fish in February, CITES found the plan to be insufficient and did not adequately consider its advice, prompting the recommendation to suspend all commercial trade in specimens of CITES-listed species with Mexico. CITES did not provide any additional details on the commercial trade that should be banned.
CITES lists more than 40,900 species of plants and animals as protected wildlife at risk of over-exploitation by international trade, including about 6,600 animal species. On receiving CITES’ recommendations, Mexico’s government defended its plan and said it would send a delegation to Geneva to meet with CITES and review its recommendations. The government expressed a willingness to discuss observations and resolve them satisfactorily, despite considering its treatment to be unfair, given the exhaustive efforts and many actions that have been carried out.
In November, the Center for Biological Diversity, a US environmental group, reported a significant increase in wildlife trafficking in Mexico, citing toothless regulation for harming wildlife in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries.
