Ashley R. Williams

(CNN) — US Customs and Border Protection agents in Arizona have seized a 242-pound swim bladder, an organ that helps fish. control the buoyancy – This comes from the endangered totoaba fish, officials said.

A police officer on duty at the Nogales Port of Entry in Santa Cruz County found organs hidden in a commercial shipment of frozen fish fillets. CBP announces.

The swim bladder, found on April 13, was valued at an estimated $2.7 million, according to a news release.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a preliminary DNA test and found the bladder to be that of a fish. Totoaba McDonald’s A species that lives in the Gulf of California, Mexico. The agency seized the bladder and is investigating the smuggling attempt with the Department of Homeland Security.

Officials said the seizure was the second largest in the United States and likely the largest totoaba seizure in Arizona.

The totoaba fish, whose swim bladder is considered a cultural delicacy in Asia and used in traditional Chinese medicine, is protected by the Endangered Species Act, according to CBP. The species has been listed as endangered since 1979.

Illegal fishing, habitat destruction and unintentional harvesting are contributing to the decline of totoaba fish, according to the report. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In a release, CBP said it is illegal to sell, collect, transport or possess federally protected species in the United States and Mexico.

CNN wire
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