Cocaine of the sea, ‘epic failure’ and how following the money can limit illegal wildlife trade
It has been called "cocaine of the sea" — the dried swim bladder of the totoaba fish, which when smuggled from Mexico to China sells for US$40,000 to $60,000 per kilogram thanks to its supposed medicinal qualities. While the fish is critically endangered as a result, the situation of another animal that gets caught in totoaba nets is even more dire. The illicit trade has driven the world’s smallest marine mammal — a kind of porpoise called a vaquita — to almost certain extinction.
via Earth Journalism Network
Published: Nov 2018 | Categories: Media Coverage
Join & Contact us
11a Mansfield Rd
Oxford OX1 3SZ
I often hear the ivory trade 🐘 in Japan 🇯🇵 used as an example of how demand reduction efforts can turn things around but what does the evidence say? 🤓
Read our thoughts below based on a long time coming paper in @ConservandSoc led by @LauraThoWal!
https://theconversation.com/japans-ivory-market-is-no-longer-a-threat-to-elephant-populations-heres-why-192293#comment_2883291
