Global Cooperation in Fisheries Enforcement:

The Investigation and Prosecution of Toboaba Traffickers

Michelle Zetwo, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement Melanie Pierson, U.S. Department of Justice M. Katherine Moore, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center Forensic Laboratory Luis Enriquez Paredes, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Mary Burnham Curtis, USFWS National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory

Wildlife Trafficking Profits

Totoaba …No Small Fish

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries | Page 4

What Happened to the Totoaba?

• Overfished in Mexican waters • 1975 closed to fishing in Mexico. • 1976 listed as CITES Appendix I. • 1979 listed on U.S. Endangered Species Act. • Bycatch to legal corvina fishery in Mexico.

Source: PROFEPA Source: NOAA

Source: PROFEPA

Totoaba Swim Bladder

Habitat

Vaquita

Mexico’s Protection Efforts

Export Routes: US/Mexico Border to China

U.S. Ports of Entry: San Ysidro, Calexico

Educate Border Officers Fresh: Concealed in a cooler under fish.

Dry: Hidden in the trunk of a car.

Source: NOAA

Source: USFWS

Source: USFWS

Forensics Long tubules attached to top of bladder, and folded back and forth over it

Totoaba

Not Totoaba: drums, croakers, corvina

38 cm

long

25 cm long

150 fresh bladders discovered in coolers…

Source: USFWS

Seizure at U.S./Mexico Border

Drying House in Calexico, CA

Source: USFWS

Source: HSI

- No food in house - Minimal furniture - Minimal clothing Result: - 241 bladders seized (estimated value: $2.4 million) - House forfeited

Value of Each Totoaba Bladder $1,500 in Mexico

$5,000 in the U.S.

$10,000 China.

Investigation Interviews, controlled delivery Search warrants on cell phones and email. Examine bank records. Review FEDEX export documents, Customs import/export records,….

Prosecution - Federal Charges:

• Smuggling • Conspiracy • Lacey Act • Money Laundering • Endangered Species Act • False Statements

Prosecution: Fines and Restitution

Fines –based on U.S. Federal sentencing guidelines. Restitution – makes the victim whole. Forfeiture (seize vehicles, houses)

…The penalties are not severe enough to deter the illegal trafficking.

Restitution: Cost to Raise a Totoaba $91,000/year operating costs divided by 80 fish= $1,137 per fish per year. Total cost to raise 1 totoaba to 10 years = $11,370 USD

Data from Dr. Conal True Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexico

Source: UABC

How do we stop trafficking of protected species?

International cooperation with: • source (Mexico) • trade route (United States) • demand (China) • Scientific community • NGO’s

QUESTIONS?

Global Cooperation in Fisheries Enforcement: �The Investigation and Prosecution of Toboaba TraffickersWildlife Trafficking ProfitsSlide Number 3Totoaba …No Small FishWhat Happened to the Totoaba?Slide Number 6HabitatSlide Number 8Slide Number 9Slide Number 10Educate Border Officers ForensicsSlide Number 13Drying House in Calexico, CAValue of Each Totoaba BladderInvestigationProsecution - Federal Charges:Prosecution: Fines and RestitutionRestitution: Cost to Raise a Totoaba How do we stop trafficking �of protected species?Slide Number 21QUESTIONS?�