Mexico tries to protect the vaquitas and totoabas but crime can be more

During his childhood, Luis Enríquez liked to dream about the sea and the creatures that inhabit it.

From the concrete jungle that is Mexico City, with its opaque skies and drowsy lights, he would watch documentaries about the ocean's vastness.

"Sometimes we went on vacation to the beach, but we were far away. The truth is that I watched television and was impressed with the sea. As soon as I finished my degree, I came to Baja California," he says wistfully.

Decades later, Enríquez is still in the same state where he has dedicated himself to observing the rich marine fauna of the Sea of ​​Cortez and the Gulf of California as a molecular ecology and biotechnology researcher at the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC).

His infinite curiosity has led him to study squid, whales and, for more than 15 years, he has been obsessed with the

.

"The totoaba and the vaquita are endemic species of the Gulf of California, that is, they only live there, that is their habitat. That is where they feed and carry out their entire life cycle. But the very high demand for the totoaba crop in China sparks an

. The worst thing is that they do it with nets in which the vaquitas also get entangled and die. They are two endangered species due to the same activity. But there is great interest in the black market, there is lots of people involved," he explains.

[The totoaba's prized bladder and its contraband threaten to make the vaquita extinct]

In China, the swim bladder of the totoaba costs thousands of dollars and there is a great demand for the species, whose capture is prohibited in Mexico due to intense overfishing.

As Enríquez explained,

Two specimens of vaquita porpoise in the Sea of ​​Cortez. Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico

The Mexican state has had little success in combating the illegal totoaba trade.

according to data from the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection, obtained from 34 information requests made by Noticias Telemundo for this report, in collaboration with the Latin American Center for Journalistic Investigation (CLIP). 

On March 27, Mexico was sanctioned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) —a global treaty that regulates wildlife— because, despite presenting a plan to combat illegal fishing of totoaba and protect the vaquita, the CITES secretariat concluded that "the action plan is not adequate".

"

That means that it had to meet certain requirements that had to be included in the plan as the goals, and a definition of how long it will take to implement these activities. This is essential to be able to respond to the recommendations of the Standing Committee," explains Ivonne Higuero, CITES Secretary General, in an interview with Telemundo News.

However, on April 13, the Mexican government announced that another plan submitted to protect both species had finally been approved, thereby lifting the sanction that

that signed .

the treaty. 

"This decision was not taken lightly. It is something that happens very rarely because it applies to all species listed by CITES. Yes, it is a very strong sanction for all that it implies," Higuero asserts.  

It is something that happens very rarely because it applies to all species listed by CITES.

Yes, it is a very strong penalty for all that it implies."

Ivonne Higuero, Secretary General of CITES

"While no one likes economically painful sanctions, all other efforts to pressure Mexico to save the vaquita have not been enough. The strongest

and push it to finally save the vaquita. this little porpoise from extinction," Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement of the decision.

In addition, the researchers note that illegal fishing in the vaquita's habitat continues, even in the Zero Tolerance Zone, where only research and law enforcement vessels are allowed.

"

, while 38 vessels were probably fishing illegally in the surrounding Vaquita Refuge," the statement details.

The vaquita could become extinct next year, according to specialists

Dec 27, 202102:52

The Center for Biological Diversity, along with two other environmental organizations, sued the US Department of the Interior in December 2022 to activate sanctions and an embargo on imports of marine products from Mexico. 

In the announcement of the lawsuit, the organization's specialists detailed that, in 2021,

. 

In response to the lawsuit, the US Department of the Interior announced on April 7 that it will determine whether Mexico has not met its obligations to protect the vaquita and totoaba.

In the event that the country is certified as having breached preservation programs, the Joe Biden government could embargo the importation of wild products from Mexico, including shrimp and fish.

The announcement of this decision is scheduled for June 3.

According to official figures for 2021, the United States represents 50% of Mexico's foreign sales, which is equivalent to 763.5 million dollars annually.

The "cocaine of the sea"

The exploiters remove the totoaba's swim bladder —better known as the 'crop'— as soon as they capture it and then dry it.

According to organizations like the Center for Biological Diversity, in China, some bladders can cost as much as $46,000 per kilo, but researchers like Vanda Felbab-Brown, from the Brookings Institution, say that it can be priced at $60,000.

A specimen of totoaba that was bred in captivity at the facilities of the Autonomous University of Baja California, Ensenada Campus. Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico

Sometimes they have reached higher prices, due to the scarcity caused by the overexploitation of these fish.

At some auctions, they could exceed $150,000, according to an essay by academic Alberto Guadarrama-Pérez and other researchers, published in 2021. By comparison, rhino horns fetch about $26,000 per kilo, and tiger bones range in a range that goes from 1,200 to 2,300 dollars, according to data from the Wildlife Justice Commission, an environmental organization that investigates species trafficking activities.    

This places the bladders of the totoaba as one of the most valuable products in the black market of the illegal trafficking of wild species, not in vain they call it "the cocaine of the sea."

According to ancient traditional knowledge such as the Bencao Gangmu, a Chinese medical compendium written in 1578, the bladder helps restore patients'

, a TCM term that translates as "vital life force." .

It is also a source of collagen, which is why it is believed to slow down aging.

The totoaba has an organ that on the black market can be worth more than some drugs (and Mexican criminals know it).

Sept.

2, 202203:38

In mainland China, a mysticism surrounds bladders due to their supposed healing properties, and they are so valuable that many people even frame and display them as a trophy or a piece of art.

According to official data cited by Traffic, a global environmental organization, between 2015 and 2019 alone, Hong Kong imported a total of 16,899 tons of fish maws of different species, including totoaba.

"We always have hope that this situation will change, because if not, it wouldn't make any sense for us to continue here," says Enríquez, the academic specializing in the study of the species.

Regarding the plans of the Government of Mexico, he asserts: "I think things can be done better, but what is the specific protection plan? We do not know it. One of the things they comment is that there will be a firm hand against the group that is engaged in illegal trafficking. That's interesting because every time we talk about it, we

."  

I think things can be done better, but what is the specific protection plan?

We don't know him"

Luis Enríquez, researcher Autonomous University of Baja California

Noticias Telemundo and CLIP analyzed data provided by the Mexican Government in more than 30 requests for information, both at the federal and state levels, which show the ineffectiveness of the judicial system when it comes to judging and sentencing people who commit the crime of trafficking of totaba.

As stated before,

. 

"You have to follow the entire judicial process so that there can be more convictions, you have to collect the evidence, and you have to make sure that there are judges who can convict these people with significant penalties and fines. It is the only way to cut the incentives to those crimes because, if they only arrest you for a week and let you out, people will not stop fishing totoaba because the profits are very large," explains Higuero.

If they only arrest you for a week, and they let you out, people are not going to stop fishing totoaba."

ivonne higuero

The low number of sentences and convictions contrasts with the enormous seizures that have been made by authorities in several countries, including Mexico:

 that have made the journey from Baja California to China and, in many cases, , pass through the United States, according to a database developed by Enríquez at the Autonomous University of Baja California and research by environmental NGOs such as Earth League International and Traffic, among others. 

The Chinese city of Hong Kong and the state of California, in the United States, emerge as the places where the main totoaba seizures have been made, according to data from the UABC database, and another that was generated by Environmetal Information Agency, an environmental research and advocacy organization, to which we had access.  

[“The sea cucumber can be finished”: alert for the overfishing of this species in Mexico]

As already explained, in totoaba poaching, large and resistant nets (known as gillnets or gillnets) are often used, in which the vaquita also becomes entangled and dies.

According to recent research by the International Union for Conservation of Nature,

.

Living in the same sea, the vaquita and the totoaba run similar risks.

"Those nets are destroying many species. I have seen photos showing that there are also octopuses, turtles, shells and everything. That Sea of ​​Cortez, which is a beauty, which is the world's aquarium, we cannot spoil it. We have a biodiversity crisis right now," explains Higuero. 

Various technical reports show that the totoaba population has also decreased drastically, which is why its fishing has been closed since 1975. In 2017, the National Fisheries Institute calculated that the totoaba biomass was about 36,429 tons.

The following year, the figure dropped by almost half, to 19,294 tons, according to what Datamares reports, an organization that analyzes and disseminates data to promote transparency. 

"Over time, the social and economic contexts changed, but

. I don't think those of us who worked in the area, nor the fishermen, nor the conservation groups, ever "Not even the government imagined the impact that this would have on conservation efforts and all the collateral damage. Now everything is urgent and we have to solve everything," explains Catalina López-Sagástegui, a researcher at the Institute of the Americas and general director of Datamares.

While these depleted species try to survive in the ocean depths, on the surface they are the subject of diplomatic battles involving Mexico, the United States, China, and various multilateral organizations led by CITES and Interpol, among others.

The recent sanction against Mexico was the conclusion of a process that began in November 2022, during the 75th Meeting of the CITES Standing Committee in Panama, where representatives from Asia, Europe, North America, Central America, South America South and the Caribbean, decided that Mexico would have until February 28, 2023 to present an effective action plan to protect the vaquita from extinction.

Otherwise,

.

In Mexico, they estimate that only 10 vaquitas are left alive because of the fishing of the precious totoaba

Oct 5, 202203:39

Finally, on February 27, one day before the November ultimatum, the proposal was received but, as we already know, the organization's secretariat considered that it did not have all the necessary elements for proper follow-up and Mexico had to prepare a new one. proposal that was approved this month.

"Several years have passed, the pandemic has passed and Mexico has been given a lot of time to comply with the rules established by the Mexican government itself - which imposed them in September 2020 - and which aims to prohibit nets in the habitat of the vaquita, prevent the traffic of boats in that region and that the fishermen give up their gillnets, but that has not happened.

, "explains Alejandro Olivera, representative of the Center, in an interview for Biological Diversity in Mexico.

Chinese networks

Although Chinese traders used to meet their demand for wildlife-related products in Asian and African countries, experts have warned that in the last 15 years they have been taking natural resources out of countries like Mexico.

In March 2022, Felbab-Brown, the Brookings Institution scholar, published the report

in which she analyzes this problem and delves into the connections between wildlife trafficking and the organized crime groups.

"I think that one of the most important conclusions of my report was that we verified the presence of drug traffickers in the coastal areas, those of the Sinaloa Cartel and those of Jalisco, and we detected that they want to control each and every one of the fisheries, both legal and illegal, and all stages from processing to export," Felbab-Brown explained in an interview. 

One of the most important conclusions of my report was that we verified the presence of drug traffickers in the coastal areas, those of the Sinaloa Cartel and those of Jalisco."

Vanda Felbab-Brown, Brookings Institution scholar

In her research, the academic details that some of the unregulated marine products, which are illegally harvested and acquired by Chinese buyers, include shark fins, sea cucumbers, lobsters, abalone, shrimp, clams, oysters, jellyfish, and bladders. or maws of totoaba.

They are also involved in the capture of various species of reptiles, including turtles for their meat and pet trade, as well as crocodile skins and the poaching of jaguars. 

"The Chinese side is complicated because you have actors who are specifically traffickers and could be what in the US is known as a cartel. But they are very different groups than the Mexican ones because they tend to be much smaller and family-based, plus They are not as violent as in Mexico, where they can have up to 20,000 hitmen, but instead

," said the researcher, who did more than 70 interviews in Mexico during the production. of your report.

Totoabas in the laboratories of the Autonomous University of Baja California. Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico

On January 3, the Secretary of the Navy, which is in charge of patrolling and safeguarding the area, announced that it had dismantled the "Totoaba Cartel" with the arrest of seven people, after an intense security strategy that included the "

(...) likewise, 2,042 inspections were carried out on boats or vessels, 12,314 on smaller vessels," according to details of Admiral Rafael Ojeda Durán, head of the Secretary of the Navy at a press conference .  

There are always Mexicans willing to do that job because the traffic is very profitable."

Andrea Crosta EARTH LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL

"The people who were arrested were already on our radar four years ago and we gave that information to the Mexican authorities. So, for me, that's

and I doubt that they would arrest any Chinese, surely only They are Mexicans. That doesn't help because there are always Mexicans willing to do that job because trafficking is very profitable," Andrea Crosta, director of Earth League International (ELI), a US non-governmental organization that investigates the wildlife crime and collaborates with federal agencies.

In Baja California, the news about totoaba trafficking usually receives great coverage due to the enormous importance that the species arouses in the region.

At the end of December, local media reported that some men burned several vehicles in front of a Chinese restaurant in Tijuana, according to the digital weekly Zeta.

Then they entered the premises, amid the terror of the diners, and threw a can of gasoline, leaving several white sheets that said “THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE THEY DID NOT PAY, EL MAYKOL, EL JORGE, EL ERICKSON.

Those of the 'HAINAN' restaurant and because of them (...) all Chinese food restaurants will be burned.

Until they pay the $200,000 they owe, we're going to leave them alone.

Atte.

The People of the Puddle”. 

On January 4, the state prosecutor's office confirmed that this incident related to Junchang Wu, a Chinese national who is accused of leading a totoaba trafficking ring, and against whom Interpol issued a red search notice.

According to local media and sources, Wu continues to operate in the area and is not facing charges in the country.

Mexican authorities did not respond to repeated requests for information about this and other cases of totoaba trafficking in that region. 

[How can you protect the environment to preserve species?

Here are some tips]

"The Mexican authorities have to get serious with the Chinese traffickers, if they don't do that, nothing will change. I am aware that going after these people is difficult for the authorities because in many cases they don't even have a Chinese translator. So imagine how difficult it is to investigate a group, if you don't understand what they are saying," explains Crosta.  

The Mexican authorities have to get serious with the Chinese traffickers, if they don't do that, nothing is going to change."

ANDREA CROSTA

In 2018, the Earth League International published

, a 14-month investigation in which they tracked totoaba trafficking in Mexico.

In that operation,

, all Chinese but with multiple local ties.

"At that time we sent all the data, all the information that we could collect, to the governments of Mexico and the United States. But they are the ones who must investigate and arrest them. If they do not act against the Chinese traffickers there is no hope of put an end to that trafficking network," says Crosta. 

Planet Earth: This is how they try to save the coveted and endangered sea cucumber in Mexico

July 15, 202202:33

In September 2022, the Chinese government released the results of the Qingfeng Action 2022, a multi-department operation conducted from February 15 to May 15, 2022 to stop illegal wildlife trade. 

According to Chinese authorities, 12,000 cases of wildlife crime were registered, they captured more than 14,000 criminals from 719 criminal gangs, and confiscated more than 130,000 specimens of wild animals and plants, including

and other marine species.  

In June 2020, Hong Kong authorities made the largest seizure in the past 20 years:

.

However, its true origin was Mexico, because the totoaba is endemic to the Sea of ​​Cortez. 

In October of that year, 114 kilograms of totoaba maws were seized at Hong Kong International Airport.

Customs officials inspected an air shipment declared frozen squid from Mexico, finding totoaba bladders mixed with squid in nine Styrofoam boxes.

Customs authorities seized about 160 kilograms of totoaba bladders at Hong Kong International Airport on June 4, 2020. Hong Kong Customs

In both operations, authorities seized more than 274 kilograms of crops and estimated the total value of the shipments to be about HK$44 million (about US$5.6 million).

According to figures from the FGR, obtained through a request for information,

"It's international organized crime. These people have their nets and sometimes what happens is that the local fisherman gets caught, but they don't bring down the net. We have to go further and keep track of it to see who is at the top of that net. international criminal law", explains Higuero.

Few convictions, great impunity

In Mexico, the illegal capture of totoaba is punishable by up to nine years in prison, and three more if it is committed in a protected area, such as the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve and the waters of the Sea of Cortés, an area of ​​great marine wealth and consisting of 177,000 square kilometers of ocean platform.

However, one of the major failures in the fight against wildlife trafficking in Mexico is the few investigation processes that are carried out and, therefore, the few convictions, which favors an environment of impunity in which criminal activities proliferate. .

[USA.

states that the woodpecker and 22 other species are extinct]

"There are very few sentences, the Mexican State does not have the capacity to face that. The price of the totoaba crop is exorbitant and, therefore, it is an activity in which organized crime is highly involved. Great logistics are needed to capture the fish and take it to another continent, that's why it's a big net," says Alejandro Olivera, representative in Mexico of the Center for Biological Diversity.

There are very few sentences, the Mexican State does not have the capacity to face that.

The price of the totoaba crop is exorbitant"

Alejandro Olivera, Center for Biological Diversity

Además, Profepa reveló en las solicitudes de información hechas por Noticias Telemundo que solo "tiene intervención" en 31 carpetas de investigación sobre delitos relacionados con el tráfico de totoaba que está procesando la Fiscalía General de la República (FGR). En 2021, una investigación liderada por Connectas y los medios Diálogo Chino, El Sol de México y Emeequis, denunció que de los 42 expedientes abiertos por ese delito durante el periodo 2012 a 2021, no se reflejaba una sola condena contra las personas vinculadas a esas operaciones ilícitas.

"Creo que nuestro sistema judicial no está diseñado de la mejor manera para combatir ese delito, porque casi que tienen que atrapar a alguien en el acto para poder procesarlo y eso es muy difícil que suceda. Entonces, esa parte de la perspectiva legal, se tiene que mejorar", explica López-Sagástegui.

Un envío de vejigas frescas de totoaba que fue interceptado por las autoridades aduaneras de Hong Kong, en octubre de 2020.Hong Kong Customs

A fines de enero de 2023, la FGR contestó una amplia solicitud de información formulada por Noticias Telemundo en la que ofrece más detalles que los proporcionados por Profepa. Según estos datos, ese organismo ha iniciado 106 carpetas de investigación desde enero de 2016 hasta octubre de 2022, y los años con mayor actividad son 2018 y 2020, con 25 y 26 carpetas respectivamente.

Sin embargo, en 2021 se registra un declive con solo 13 carpetas y en los meses transcurridos hasta octubre de 2022 solo se inició una.

Gráfico: Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística. Fuente: Fiscalía General de la República.CLIP

Además, la fiscalía especificó que, entre diciembre de 2016 a octubre de 2019, se detuvieron a 42 personas por el delito de tráfico de totoaba. Como infiere Crosta, la gran mayoría de los detenidos son de México (17), seguidos por personas chinas (7), un coreano, un congolés y una persona identificada simplemente como "africana".

Gráfico: Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística. Fuente: Fiscalía General de la República. CLIP

"Es un ciclo de vida, o sea, tenemos que pescarla para mejorar la economía de uno y para que se mejore la economía del pueblo. Uno no lo hace por diversión, ni por deporte, lo hace por necesidad", dijo Pedro, un pescador de Baja California, en una entrevista realizada en 2022.

La capacidad del Gobierno mexicano para hacer valer la ley no es muy grande, la verdad"

Enrique Sanjurjo PESCA ABC

"La capacidad del Gobierno mexicano para hacer valer la ley no es muy grande, la verdad. Nosotros colaboramos en el monitoreo de la población de vaquita y recogemos las redes fantasmas, que son artes de pesca abandonadas, pero nos gustaría hacer mucho más si el crimen no estuviera metido en eso", dijo en entrevista con Noticias Telemundo Enrique Sanjurjo, directivo de Pesca ABC, una organización medioambiental que trabaja en la zona del Mar de Cortés.

Otro elemento que confirma las limitaciones operativas, tanto de los planes de seguridad como del sistema judicial, son las cifras de aseguramientos de piezas de totoaba, es decir, las incautaciones o decomisos de vejigas en territorio mexicano.

En 2016, la entonces Procuraduría General de la República (hoy Fiscalía General de la República) anunció que en el periodo comprendido entre 2012 y ese año, había incautado más de 7 toneladas de totoaba "además de otras 327 piezas cuyo peso no se detalla".

Conocer la magnitud actual del tráfico de totoaba no es sencillo, ya que la información varía según la autoridad a la que se le pregunte.

Según datos de la FGR, obtenidos por Noticias Telemundo a través de solicitudes de información, entre enero de 2016 al 31 octubre de 2022, se aseguraron 743 piezas de totoaba, de las cuales 291 se decomisaron en la Ciudad de México entre 2018 y 2021. La Agencia Nacional de Aduanas respondió en otra solicitud que, en esos mismos años se aseguraron 470 piezas solo en la Aduana del Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México.

["Se va a degradar toda nuestra selva": ambientalistas y líderes indígenas denuncian la devastación del Tren Maya]    

Sin embargo, las incautaciones de vejigas de totoaba han continuado en otros países. Aparte de las operaciones ejecutadas por las autoridades chinas, en el más reciente informe del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de EE.UU. se reportan tres incidentes en los que se incautaron vejigas de totoaba provenientes de México en cargamentos localizados en California con valores estimados entre 250 y 450,000 dólares, aproximadamente.

En 2016, William Moody, quien en ese momento era el jefe de la oficina de aplicación de la ley en el Servicio Federal de Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Estados Unidos, reveló en una audiencia ante el Congreso que la policía federal del sur de California incautó más de 500 vejigas natatorias de totoaba introducidas de contrabando en Estados Unidos, en una investigación de varios años de duración.

"Un sujeto fue sorprendido metiendo 27 vejigas natatorias de totoaba bajo las alfombrillas de los asientos traseros de su vehículo. Otras 214 vejigas natatorias de totoaba fueron descubiertas en virtud de una orden de registro en su domicilio, que probablemente era utilizado para secar vejigas natatorias con el fin de introducirlas de contrabando", aseveró Moody quien subrayó que, para ese momento, la restitución total ordenada a pagar al gobierno de México por ese caso era de 620,500 dólares. 

En junio de 2021, las autoridades estadounidenses incautaron vejigas secas de totoaba en el Puerto de Entrada de Otay Mesa, California.Servicio Federal de Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Estados Unidos

El mismo año en que Moody testificó, la FGR registró un total de solo 132 piezas aseguradas en todo el país.

En enero de 2022, Interpol anunció los resultados de la operación Golden Strike que en 2021 ejecutó operaciones de inteligencia e identificó a unos 100 sospechosos en 23 países del mundo. El operativo desencadenó una ola de detenciones y la incautación de miles de productos derivados de la flora y fauna silvestres.

Entre los decomisos resaltan 46 kilos de vejigas de totoaba, equivalentes a unas 377 piezas de totoaba desecada (en promedio las vejigas secas pesan 122 gramos, y las frescas 414). En 2021, la FGR registró el aseguramiento de solo 163 piezas.

"El Gobierno mexicano ha mentido"

Debido a la escasa información oficial, Noticias Telemundo analizó una base de datos desarrollada por Enríquez, el investigador de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.

Ante la disparidad en las cifras que pueden encontrarse en comunicados, noticias de prensa, discursos oficiales y otras fuentes, el académico decidió integrar todos los datos disponibles para usar esa información como base de algunos de los análisis demográficos y genéticos que está llevando a cabo la UABC sobre la población silvestre de la totoaba macdonaldi.

"They have even asked us for the database on several occasions. For us, the interest is not to know how many bladders are under the protection of the authorities, how many they consign, nor to know if they are fining or not the accused; that is not ours work. The interest in the database is, precisely, to be able to have a measure of the magnitude with which this illegal activity is occurring. That is, to know approximately how much they are taking, how much we are talking about," explains Enríquez. 

The interest in the database is, precisely, to be able to have a measure of the magnitude with which this illegal activity is occurring"

Luis Enríquez, academic

La base tiene registros desde 2011 hasta la actualidad e incluye entre 26,000 y 30,000 vejigas o ejemplares de totoaba (entre cifras oficiales, y decomisos registrados por medios nacionales e internacionales, además de informes y otras fuentes). También desde 2011, Enríquez y su equipo han logrado examinar aproximadamente 3,513 muestras proporcionadas por autoridades mexicanas y extranjeras que corresponderían apenas a un 10% de las incautaciones hechas a nivel global, según su propia base. 

"En una ocasión detectamos que los datos de los restos de una totoaba hallados en una playa coincidían con los de una vejiga decomisada algunas semanas más tarde. En otras palabras, estas herramientas genéticas permiten la identificación individual de los ejemplares, por lo que sería posible transparentar el destino final y la destrucción de los aseguramientos, dando certidumbre a las instancias internacionales de que los decomisos no regresan al mercado ilegal", explica el investigador. 

In his research, the academic has registered 272 maternal lineages and many variants in other types of genetic markers, and although new genetic variants continue to appear, this is less and less frequent, "which gives us confidence that such high values ​​of genetic diversity are those that the wild population really presents", explains Enríquez. 

They find more than 5,000 turtles and 300 contraband iguanas in a house in Colombia.

They were going to eat them

Feb 22, 202300:31

Sus hallazgos han sido reseñados por CITES en un informe de 2022 en el que se señala que "esos valores representan una gran diversidad genética de la especie, lo que sugiere que la especie se encuentra en mucha mejor condición de la que se suponía en un principio. Se señaló que esos resultados son sorprendentes para una especie incluida en el Apéndice I y considerada en peligro por la legislación nacional". 

Es decir, las investigaciones de Enríquez y su equipo concluyen que, pese a la sobrepesca, la totoaba no estaría en peligro de extinción. 

"Hemos encontrado que hay bastante variabilidad genética en la población de totoaba. Sí ha sido sobrexplotada, y se sigue capturando de manera ilegal como muestran los incidentes en México y otros países, pero afortunadamente existen varias evidencias de que, al menos, no se encuentra en peligro crítico de extinción", explica Enríquez.

Diversos expertos y activistas han señalado que la ausencia y disparidad de cifras sobre el tráfico de totoaba son una muestra de la poca eficacia de los planes implementados por el Gobierno mexicano, tanto para proteger a la totoaba como a la vaquita marina.

Los datos recopilados para esta investigación son un ejemplo de esto:entre 2016 y 2022, el equipo de Enríquez examinó 2,456 vejigas de totoaba que provienen de incautaciones de la FGR, la mayoría ocurridas en ese mismo periodo de tiempo.Esto significa que Enríquez ha tomado muestras de tres veces más vejigas que las incautadas por la FGR en el mismo periodo, las cuales solo suman 743, según los datos oficiales.

Gráfico: Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística. Fuente: Fiscalía General de la República.CLIP

Gráfico: Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística. Fuente: Fiscalía General de la República.CLIP

"Es muy difícil saber las cifras del tráfico, además en México hay pocas ganas de dar información. He notado que, incluso ante CITES y otras autoridades internacionales, el Gobierno mexicano ha mentido, o sea, dan cifras falsas. Entonces eso complica mucho la actuación de todo el mundo", asevera Sanjurjo, el directivo de Pesca ABC, una organización medioambiental que trabaja en la zona del Mar de Cortés.

En un documento de CITES, examinado por Noticias Telemundo y CLIP, se afirma que desde noviembre de 2019 hasta finales de octubre de 2021, las autoridades mexicanas incautaron 2,242 vejigas natatorias de totoaba e impusieron sanciones por valor de unos 59 millones de pesos mexicanos (aproximadamente dos millones y medio de dólares estadounidenses). Estas cifras exceden por mucho a los datos divulgados por el Gobierno mexicano en las solicitudes de información.

El plan de México

Como ya se contó en este reportaje, el 13 de abril, México logró que se aprobara su propuesta. El contenido del nuevo plan —divulgado de manera general por la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales— no planteaba soluciones novedosas, según activistas y expertos consultados.

La propuesta mexicana consta de siete líneas de acción. Las autoridades se comprometen a impedir la entrada de embarcaciones a la Zona de Tolerancia Cero, un polígono de 225 kilómetros cuadrados donde la pesca y el acceso de cualquier bote son actividades prohibidas y que fue creado en 2020, también afirman que la mantendrán "libre de redes de enmalle".

Además, se reafirma el compromiso de vigilar los sitios autorizados de embarque y desembarque, algo que CITES ya había reclamado el año pasado porque sus inspectores pasaron una hora en el malecón de San Felipe, pueblo pesquero de Baja California, y vieron que "al menos 15 embarcaciones salieron al mar sin autorización y sin inspección".

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"An alternative fishing gear program" will also be implemented, the vaquita population will be monitored, and a trilateral group (consisting of Mexico, the US, and China) will be created to enforce the law, in addition to improve financial intelligence mechanisms, raise awareness "about the illegal totoaba trade" and monitor the vaquita population.

"It's very general, it doesn't talk about any details, it's not proposing anything new, and they've been saying all this for a long time. The reality is that today people continue to fish with prohibited nets, mainly shrimp. It's not just about the totoaba, right now it's the curvina season and they're also using gillnets. So everything stays on paper," says Olivera, the representative of the Center for Biological Diversity.

The reality is that today people continue to fish with prohibited nets, mainly shrimp.

It's not just about the totoaba"

Alejandro Olivera, Center for Biological Diversity

Tres funcionarios de México, que estuvieron en la reunión de CITES en noviembre pero pidieron mantener su anonimato porque no están autorizados para hacer comentarios en público, dijeron que las presiones han sido muy intensas para lograr que se erradiquen las redes agalleras y la pesca ilegal en el Mar de Cortés y otras áreas cercanas.

Un establecimiento que vende vejigas natatorias desecadas en China.Earth League International

Sin embargo, todos coinciden en que los 177,000 kilómetros cuadrados que conforman esa zona son inabarcables para un solo gobierno, más allá de la enorme complejidad geopolítica conformada por los cárteles delictivos, los compradores chinos, los pescadores mexicanos y las fallas de los sistemas de protección.

México solo no puede controlar el tráfico de totoaba"

Blanca Mendoza Vera Profepa

"Este no es un tema exclusivo de nosotros. Desde el momento en que hay demanda por parte de países asiáticos, ellos deben hacer lo necesario porque sus leyes corten esa demanda. Lo mismo pasa con países de tránsito, que ahora también son destino, como Estados Unidos. Siempre el reclamo es contra nosotros, pero México solo no puede controlar el tráfico de totoaba", explica Blanca Alicia Mendoza Vera, titular de la Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente, en una entrevista con Noticias Telemundo.

Mendoza Vera explica los grandes retos que conlleva controlar ese vasto sector marino, y subraya que en los encuentros internacionales se exige que México destine recursos económicos significativos para combatir la pesca ilegal y conservar especies como la vaquita y la totoaba.

"Nosotros no tenemos un presupuesto que sea inacabable y todo esto se hace a costa de nuestros contribuyentes. Ya es tiempo de que se empiece a reconocer en el ámbito internacional que la protección de las especies es responsabilidad de todos, estemos donde estemos. Y, sobre todo, ayudar con el control de las actividades delincuenciales", asevera.

La procuradora suele mencionar la importancia de la Secretaría de Marina que ejecuta las acciones de seguridad en la estrategia de protección para la vaquita y, con alarma, detalla uno de los modus operandi detectados por los cuerpos de seguridad que todos los días patrullan la zona.

"There have been cases in which the people who are in these boats or boats are women and children. We think that they are criminal strategies that usually use the weakest to be destroyed. But that cannot be admitted by our country," he warns.

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Higuero, the general secretary of CITES, agrees with Mendoza Vera about the complexity of the methods and criminal networks that are dedicated to totoaba trafficking.

"This cannot be fought by a single country. Mexico has to make its efforts at the national level and apply the law, but in general this can only be fought at the international level and demand must be reduced. We have programs to reduce demand, China also has them and they must enforce the laws because there are many ports, and the borders are porous between the countries of Asia. They are criminals that many times no one can catch and for that international cooperation is needed" says Higuero.

This cannot be fought by a single country.

Mexico has to make its efforts at the national level and apply the law, but in general this can only be fought at the international level."

ivonne higuero, quotes

México le presenta a CITES informes semestrales sobre las labores de protección y seguridad, en el del periodo comprendido entre el 1 de noviembre de 2021 y el 15 de abril de 2022, la Profepa detalla que para la inspección y vigilancia del puerto de San Felipe (Baja California) y el de Puerto Peñasco (Sonora) tienen de 9 a 11 funcionarios para ambas zonas.

Pero en el del semestre de mayo a octubre de 2022, designaron entre 10 y 12 inspectores solo a San Felipe, donde las denuncias de tráfico son más intensas (pero cuando no son meses fuertes de pesca ilegal solo hay entre 5 y 7). Esta distribución de personal ha sido criticada por varios expertos que recomiendan que se incremente el número, ante la emergencia que significa lidiar con la pesca ilegal en todo el Mar de Cortés, más la zona costera de Sonora donde está Puerto Peñasco.

"Se incrementará el número de inspectores por parte de la procuraduría, aunque quisiera compartirle que no dejamos de tener inspectores en la zona. Y, de acuerdo con la legislación mexicana, cuando se practica un procedimiento de inspección basta con que esté presente un solo inspector. Ha habido vigilancia las 24 horas al día, durante todo el año", explica la funcionaria.

Sobre las disparidades numéricas, y las enormes diferencias de datos encontradas en la investigación de Noticias Telemundo, Mendoza Vera cree que son producto de la ausencia de una estrategia de consolidación de cifras que pueda ir mostrando los avances, o retrocesos, de las políticas oficiales implementadas.

Si nada más decimos: ‘Ay, tenemos 20 sentenciados y 50 carpetas’, pues nadie nos va a creer y eso es lógico"

BLANCA MENDOZA VERA

"Lo que creo es que nos hace falta conjuntar más datos y debemos reunirlos a partir de la Fiscalía General de la República porque son ellos los depositarios de las funciones de investigación y, desde luego, del ejercicio de acción penal. Hemos ido reuniendo cada vez más datos de la fiscalía, también de la coordinación regional y de la unidad especializada en delitos ambientales. Eso nos permitirá reunir por lo menos el número y los datos generales que puedan llevar a que esto sea creíble. Si nada más decimos: ‘Ay, tenemos 20 sentenciados y 50 carpetas’, pues nadie nos va a creer y eso es lógico”, explica.

However, it is not all bad ecological news and geopolitical challenges in the Sea of ​​Cortez.

At the beginning of March, it was announced that from October to December 2022 the number of pangas or small boats in the Zero Tolerance Zone was considerably reduced,

.

“You know that for the last month [March], maybe more, there has been almost zero illegal poaching in the area.

That was always the dream," Pritam Singh, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said in late February with a smile.

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Además, en octubre de 2022, la Sea Shepherd Conservation Society y la Secretaría de Marina habían adelantado que el promedio de horas diarias de actividad de pesca ilegal en la zona del Refugio de la Vaquita se ha reducido en un 79%, lo que contribuyó a la reducción de embarcaciones en la zona.

"No es demasiado tarde. Nunca es demasiado tarde. Y creo que no debemos sucumbir a la desesperanza. Creo que en el futuro habrá movimientos masivos de individuos que vendrán a ayudar en el problema medioambiental junto con los gobiernos y la población local", dice Singh.

When asked if he believes these changes are the product of intense international pressure on Mexico, Singh smiles and says firmly: "If I have a sick child, and my child gets better, that's all that matters to me, right? Right now, the Mexican authorities are compromised."

Singh says that environmental problems are made by people and the only way to solve them is with people.

"The bad thing is that we usually do two things: we get desperate and walk away or we say the government should fix it. But we can never let despair win," he asserts.

This story was made thanks to the support of the Google News Initiative and with the collaboration of the Latin American Center for Journalistic Investigation (CLIP).