THREATS

Vaquita are disappearing as a result of their being caught and drowned by

gillnets, as bycatch.

Many of their numbers have been killed by gillnets as part of the illegal

fishery for a fish called “totoaba”.

The totoaba is also a critically endangered fish species, targeted for its swim bladder, which is mistakenly

believed to have applications in Chinese medicine; tortoaba swim bladders will sell for as much as USD 8,000 per kilo on the

black market.