Law or regulation 5 December 2025 · English

Decision 20.53: Totoabas (Totoaba macdonaldi), directed to China and other destination countries

CITES Conference of the Parties

CITES CoP20, Samarkand (via ECOLEX)

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Summary

A decision of the CITES Conference of the Parties, adopted in Samarkand on 5 December 2025. It asks China and the other countries where totoaba swim bladders are sold to go after the networks that traffic them.

Why it matters

It is the companion to Decision 20.54, which is addressed to Mexico. Together they ask the countries at both ends of the trade to act, and both report to the same Standing Committee meeting.

Key findings

  1. Gather information and intelligence on the people in their own countries who organize the illegal totoaba trade.
  2. Map the criminal networks involved, and use intelligence-led investigations to arrest and prosecute the people responsible.
  3. Report what they have done, and the results, to the 81st meeting of the Standing Committee.

Caveats

These points summarize the decision’s text as published on ECOLEX. Like other CITES decisions, it carries no penalties of its own.