FILE - This unpublished photograph provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a vaquita porpoise. Gillnetting wild totoba is illegal and a leading cause of death for the critically endangered porpoise, of which recent studies suggest there may be fewer than a dozen in the state's wildlife. On Thursday, December 7, 2023, a coalition of environmental groups announced that the export of totoba or its parts violates an international convention on trade in endangered species. (Paula Olson/NOAA via AP, file)
By Daniel Shayler The Associated Press
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Environmental organizations on Thursday accused a Mexico-based company of violating international trade laws by selling a dietary supplement made from the endangered totoba fish to several countries, including the United States. United States and China.
Supporters told The Associated Press they also fear The Blue Formula Company may be selling illegally caught fish from the wild.
The product, which the company describes as "nature's best kept secret," is a small sachet of powdered fish collagen designed to be mixed into a drink.
According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, to which Mexico and the United States are signatories, any export of totoba fish for sale is illegal unless it has been bred in captivity with a special permit. As a listed protected species, commercial import is also illegal under US trade laws.
Environmental watchdog group Cetacean Action Treasury first cited the company in November. A coalition of environmental charities – the Center for Biological Diversity, the National Resources Defense Council and the Animal Welfare Institute – then filed a written complaint with CITES.
Formula Blue did not immediately respond to AP's request for comment.
The company says on its website that it catches fish from Cygnus Ocean, a licensed Totoba farm, and uses a portion of the profits to fund the release of some fish that breed into the wild.
However, according to environmental groups, commercial export of ocean-farmed Cygnus fish is not permitted. The farm also did not immediately respond to AP's request for comment.
Although the environmental impact of captive breeding of totoba is much lower than that of wild fishing, advocates such as Alejandro Oliveira, representative of the Center for Biological Diversity in Mexico, fear that the company and the farm are not being used as a front.
"There is no good app for detecting totoba in Mexico," Oliveira said, "so it could easily be used to recover wild totoba."
Gillnetting wild totoba is illegal and a leading cause of death for the critically endangered porpoise, of which recent studies suggest there may be fewer than a dozen in the state's wildlife.
Gilnet's business is driven by the exorbitant price of totoba vials in China, where they are sold as a delicacy like gold. Formula Blue supplements cost just under $100 for 200 grams.
In October, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than $1 million worth of Tooba vials in Arizona, hidden in a shipment of frozen fish. Approximately the same amount was seized in Hong Kong the same month in transit from Mexico to Thailand.