 |
 |
30 'Finned' Sharks Washed Up On New Zealand Beach'11/01/2008 15:55:17By Kirstie Knowles In December a New Zealand Department of Conservation ranger came across a gruesome find in the Marlborough Sounds: the bloodied carcasses of 30 sand sharks whose fins had been cut off by commercial fishermen and the bodies thrown back into the sea – some while still alive. Commercial fishermen said they believed the incident was isolated, but anecdotal evidence suggests that ‘finning’ of live sharks is not uncommon in New Zealand waters. It is difficult to know for sure - what we do know is that finning of dead sharks is fairly common practice in New Zealand waters, where it is permitted by law. Many countries, including Australia, the US, the European Union countries and South Africa, have effectively banned shark finning – these countries require the shark’s meat, and not just the fins, to be landed. While finning of dead sharks avoids the slow, painful deaths of sharks that are finned alive, the practice still threatens the sustainability of shark populations. 112 Species of Shark in NZ Waters There are 112 species of shark in New Zealand and about 70 of these are caught by fishers, for meat and other products as well as their fins. The most commonly caught species include rig (or lemonfish), dogfish, nurse shark, dark and pale ghost shark, mako, porbeagle and blue sharks. The great white (or pointer) sharks of Jaws fame have recently been granted protection under New Zealand law, and cannot be legally caught. Because most sharks are slow-growing and produce few young, they are susceptible to over-fishing. While sharks may have a reputation as Jaws-style savage killers, shark attacks are rare – there is a much higher chance of being killed by being struck by lightning than being killed by a shark. There hasn’t been a fatal shark attack in New Zealand since the 1960s. Sharks are at far greater risk from humans than humans are from sharks. 100 million sharks per year killed! Internationally estimates of the number of sharks killed varies greatly – from 10 million to 100 million, but figures are almost certainly in the tens of millions, and shark populations worldwide are believed to be in decline, with many shark species now considered endangered. It is estimated that 60-70% of shark meat caught globally is thrown away and only the fin taken, and this practice is a major contributor to worldwide shark population decline. In New Zealand it is illegal under the Animal Welfare Act to cut off a shark’s fins while it is still alive – but there is no prohibition on removing fins from dead sharks and dumping the rest of the carcass at sea. Asian Markets Taking just the fins allows fishing boats to fill their holds with the more valuable fins – highly sought after for shark fin soup in Asian markets, where they can fetch $US700 a kilo – rather than having the much less valuable shark meat take up space. Official figures suggest that somewhere between 50,000 and 80,000 sharks are killed in New Zealand waters each year. Ministry of Fisheries figures (2003-2005 data) state that seven per cent of commercially caught sharks in New Zealand are finned. Caught as By-catch Finning of sharks in New Zealand waters is practised by fisheries which ostensibly do not target sharks but catch them ‘accidentally’ as by-catch in fisheries including the tuna, hoki, squid and red cod fisheries. Nearly 50% of the fish caught in the tuna longline fishery are sharks – they catch nearly as many sharks as tuna. Fisheries Ministry acting chief executive Stan Crothers is on record as saying that finning of live sharks is ‘a barbaric and inhumane practice which is not supported in any way in New Zealand.’ However the ministry is less vocal on the matter of finning sharks after they have been killed – or whether New Zealand should join other countries in banning finning outright, whether the sharks are live or dead. The ministry has issued a draft National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, which makes little mention of finning, and does not propose to ban or regulate the practice. Pubic submissions on the draft plan close on February 1. Forest & Bird believes that requiring all fishing vessels to land entire carcases of the sharks they catch would contribute greatly to ensuring that shark fishing is sustainable. Without the current lure of high-priced fins there will be less motivation for fishers to target sharks, and greater incentive for them to avoid catching large numbers of sharks as by-catch in other fisheries. While we know so little about shark populations in NZ waters we need to act cautiously when setting limits on how many can be caught – quotas should be reduced until we know that current catch levels are sustainable. Urgent Research Needed There is an urgent need for more research into shark populations in New Zealand waters. Without vital information on shark numbers, population trends and breeding patterns, we simply do not know that the number of sharks being caught is sustainable. Until we have this information the commercial fishing quota for shark species should be zero. Sharks may lack the cuddly factor that helps drive New Zealanders’ widespread opposition to international slaughter of whales and dolphins, yet these fascinating predators of our oceans are just as much at risk, and are just as much in need of our protection. (Kirstie Knowles is a Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate)
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Read the comments about this article and leave your own comment