Historic Totoaba Meeting in Ensenada. By Gene Kira, December 8, 2003, as published in Western Outdoor News: About 11 a.m. on a Friday morning recently, I got an urgent call from Conal David True, director of the totoaba breeding program at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (UABC) lab at Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Conal was fairly out of breath, and I could imagine him sprinting up the stairs to his office overlooking the big fish tanks. Conal's voice was excited, but hushed: "Gene...he's coming. " "Are you positive? " "I just talked to him. " "Okay, I'll be there for sure.
"In about half-an-hour. " "...whaaat? " Unfortunately, Don Julio Berdegué--whose movements are sometimes a bit whimsical and hard to track--hadn't bothered to call from his El Cid Mega Resort in Mazatlán, nor had he called from the airport in San Diego. And so, I missed the historic first meeting of the two men in history who have done the most to help save the endangered totoaba--the giant croaker that grows as big as a marlin--from extinction.
Expedition to catch totoaba in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. Totoaba. Totoaba Discovered at East Cape. Feb. 15, 2004, by Gene Kira, as published in Western Outdoor News: It was a “Baja fish story” so intriguing I made a special trip to East Cape to check its authenticity. I’m convinced--it really did happen. The investigation began several months ago, when I received a stunning set of photographs from Cutter Clotfelter of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., that showed two large fish caught by some Mexican pangueros near Punta Pescadero--in the "East Cape" area about 70 miles from the extreme southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula. Nothing extraordinary about that, right? East Cape is a world-famous sportfishing vacation spot known for big fish. Well, the problem was that the fish shown in Clotfelter’s photos were not the tuna, marlin, or dorado that you might expect to be caught East Cape.
From all appearances, these five-foot-long fish appeared to be a couple of adult totoaba, Cynoscion macdonaldi, which had no business being anywhere near Punta Pescadero. Totoaba at East Cape? Totoaba - UABC Ensenada Lab. This is a continuation of my previous story about my trip with the University of Baja at Ensenada's campus on the SFS José Andrés (Tony Reyes' boat) to catch Totoaba for their restocking program.
It was a wonderful, exciting and educational experience and the scenery wasn't so bad either!! The Islas de Encantada were beautiful and the water a dark turquoise blue. The way the sun hit the sides of the colorful rock bluffs and against the blue waters was awesome, as were the sunsets. As I have continually expounded upon, fishing for Totoaba is absolutely forbidden and there are stiff penalties if you are caught. Contrary to what you might read on other web sites, the only people authorized to fish for Totoaba are the Unidad de Biotecnología en Piscicultura, Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, (Biotechnology in Fish Studies Unit at the Marine Science School) UABC's Campus in Ensenada and only for scientific purposes.
Please click to continue. Totoaba. Description and biology The totoaba (pronounced tow–TOWA–ba) is a large fish with a compressed body. It can grow to almost 6 feet (1.8 meters) long and weigh about 300 pounds (136 kilograms). It is silvery–blue on the upper part of its body and dusky–silver below. It feeds on a variety of prey, including fish, crabs, shrimp, and other crustaceans. The totoaba spends much of its life in the deeper waters of the Gulf of California (arm of the Pacific Ocean separating Baja California from the northwestern Mexican mainland). It spawns (lays eggs) in the shallow, brackish waters (mixture of freshwater and salt water) where the Colorado River empties into the gulf at its northern end. After hatching, young totoabas remain near the mouth of the Colorado River. Habitat and current distribution The totoaba is unique to the Gulf of California. After spawning, they return along the western coast to the colder, deeper waters of the gulf.
This diminished the number of fish reaching spawning grounds. Google Image Result for. 090702 acuacultura totoaba. Totoaba tank 2. Totoaba.