US Sued Over Vanishing Vaquita, the World's Smallest Porpoise
https://www.courthousenews.com/us-sued-over-vanishing-vaquita-the-worlds-smallest-porpoise/amp/
US Sued Over Vanishing Vaquita, the Worlds Smallest Porpoise
WASHINGTON (CN) In a bid to protect an ever-dwindling species of porpoise, conservation groups blame the Trump administration in a federal complaint for giving Mexico a pass on reckless fishing practices.
Vaquita face a single threat: they become entangled and drown in fishing gear, including in gear set illegally to catch totoaba, a giant, endangered fish, according to the complaint led in Washington by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Native to the Gulf of California in Mexico, the totoaba are prized for their large swim bladders, meant to ensure buoyancy in the water, which fetch upwards of $46,00 per kilogram on the black market.
The bladders, referred to as maw, are popular in China and believed to hold medicinal properties, including curing arthritis, improving skin and boosting fertility.
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