Some 40,000 totoaba hatchlings, measuring approximately 25 centimeters in length, were released on Santispac beach in the municipality of Mulegé, Baja California Sur state, Gulf of California, the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) reported this Monday.
In a statement, Semarnat said that, together with the regenerative aquaculture company Santomar and civil society, it is supporting the recovery and conservation of this species in its natural habitat. Following this action, which took place on June 27, a total of 270,000 totoabas have now been released in the region.
The text noted that this is the tenth generation of totoabas released into the Gulf of California by companies, federal authorities, and civil society, contributing to one of the most important actions for the conservation of the natural resources of the Gulf of California, dubbed by Jacques Cousteau as the “Aquarium of the World,” home to the totoaba, a species endemic to this region and unique in the world.
Totoaba fishing is prohibited, but its high value on the Chinese black market makes this fish, which can be up to two meters long and weigh 150 kilos, a victim of poaching. However, the totoaba’s maw is highly prized in the Asian market, especially in China, where its swimming belly is believed to have healing and aphrodisiac properties.
Totoaba Farming
The reintroduction of thousands of totoaba hatchlings supports the recovery of this endangered species, and this has been possible thanks to totoaba farming in Sonora and Baja California, both in the south and the north,” said Dr. Marina Robles García, Undersecretary of Biodiversity and Environmental Restoration at Semarnat.
She explained that with the knowledge developed in the laboratories of the Institute of Oceanological Research at the Autonomous University of Baja California, “it is now possible to reproduce, raise, and contribute to its conservation in the Gulf of California.”
She also mentioned that, specifically, in La Paz, Baja California, a regenerative aquaculture system was built with the latest technology, and its laboratories produce food for the larval stages of the totoaba in enormous green and gold tubes filled with microalgae.
The specialist recalled that since the 1920s, the totoaba has been the target of a A fishery that grew uncontrolled, depleting its population and bringing it to the brink of extinction.
Then, in 1991, it was officially declared Endangered and remains listed today, although the restocking efforts implemented are gradually contributing to its recovery.
The statement indicated that the restocking of totoabas in their native habitat is due to the Wildlife Conservation Management Units (UMAs), of which there are nine in Mexico dedicated to the care of this corvina in Baja California and Baja California Sur, where around 3 million totoabas have been produced in recent years.
It also specified that just over 20% of these totoabas “have been released to repopulate and strengthen the wildlife population.” After perfecting the breeding of this species under professional care, some of the offspring born in laboratories and aquariums “are reintroduced into the wild.”
Source: lopezdoriga
