The Cartel’s Cash Catch | VICE Documentary
VICE VICE
18.6M subscribers
1,047,924 views
7.7K

 Published On Jun 18, 2024

There's a race to save a dozen small cetaceans, the last in the world of their species. They're caught as bycatch in nets set to trap a fish with a huge demand in China. Can anything be done?

It all begins in Mexico, in the Gulf of California, just 97 miles from the US, where the totoaba is endemic. The demand for its swim bladder is at the heart of the issue. Two key towns in this region, San Felipe and Santa Clara, rely almost entirely on fishing shrimp and local fish. Times are perpetually challenging but engaging in illicit totoaba fishing can yield a substantial paycheck. They became overfished in the 2010s when a catch like this could generate hundreds of thousands of dollars each month.

Adding to the severity of the situation for this endangered fish, the nets used to catch this species, as well as those used for local shrimp, have inadvertently captured a small porpoise native to the Gulf of California, Mexico: the vaquita marina. This has pushed it to the brink of extinction. The latest survey in 2024 was only able to spot 6-8 vaquitas, from 10-13 last year. The US is exerting pressure on Mexico over the issue, and scientists, along with environmentalists and law enforcement in several countries, are working tirelessly to save the vaquita, halt totoaba trafficking and develop sustainable alternatives to harmful nets.

Want to watch this in Spanish? Catch the documentary on our VICE en Español channel here:    • El Último Refugio de la Vaquita Marina  

Click here to subscribe to VICE: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE

About VICE:
The Definitive Guide To Enlightening Information. From every corner of the planet, our immersive, caustic, ground-breaking and often bizarre stories have changed the way people think about culture, crime, art, parties, fashion, protest, the internet and other subjects that don't even have names yet. Browse the growing library and discover corners of the world you never knew existed. Welcome to VICE.

Connect with VICE:
Check out our full video catalog: http://bit.ly/VICE-Videos
Videos, daily editorial and more: http://vice.com
More videos from the VICE network: https://www.fb.com/vicevideo
Click here to get the best of VICE daily: http://bit.ly/1SquZ6v
Like VICE on Facebook: http://fb.com/vice
Follow VICE on Twitter:   / vice  
Follow us on Instagram:   / vice  
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vice?lang=en

The VICE YouTube Network:
VICE:    / vice  
MUNCHIES:    / munchies  
VICE News:    / vicenews  
VICE TV:    / @vice-tv  
VICE Life:    / broadly  
Noisey:    / noisey  
Motherboard:    / motherboardtv  
VICE Sports:    / noc  
Waypoint:    / waypointvice  

show more

Share/Embed