India bans shark 'finning' to save the endangered species

We fear them as predators but in reality sharks are at the receiving end of unimaginable torture and cruelty all in the name of a delicacy Sharkrsquos fin soup Though most Indians may not be familiar with this dish for countless Chinese people it is a highend standard on the menu and serving sharkrsquos fin soup at a function or formal dinner is a sign of status There is a drastic decline in the shark population due to practices such as finning PicHSI But because of the inhuman way in which the fin is cut off the living shark the procedure is banned in many countries In August India joined the list of countries which have banned finning of sharks at sea A man holding a sharkrsquos fin which can cost up to 500 depending on the species PicHSI Fishermen found guilty of detaching fins from living sharks will risk up to seven years in prison for hunting endangered species as identifying the species only through the fins is difficult Shark finning at sea enables fishing vessels to increase profitability and increase the number of sharks harvested as they only have to store and transport the fins by far the most profitable part of the shark The sharkrsquos fin soup Practice Shark finning is a practice where the fishermen cuts off the fins of the sharks and throw the stillliving animal back into the ocean where it lies on the seabed unable to move ultimately to die of starvation and in painu00a0C Samyukta of Humane Society InternationalIndia HSI says ldquoVery often the finned sharks are still alive No longer able to swim without their fins these sharks sink to the bottom of the ocean where they die a slow and painful death due to predation and starvationrdquo Under the new ban though the export of shark fins is not prohibited only the practice of shark finning onboard a vessel at sea is prohibited Nevertheless campaigners seem pleased with the move The fins are processed until they look like threads and are added to the soup PicsFatema Pittalwala Statistics According to data compiled by the UN India is the secondhighest shark catcher in the world averaging over 74000 tons per year from 20002008 Indonesia leads the world landing over 109000 tonnes annuallyu00a0According to a report by the international wildlife trade monitoring agency Traffic these two countries account for 20 per cent of yearly shark catches between 2011 and 2012 Rounding out the top ten fishers of sharks are Spain Taiwan Argentina Mexico Pakistan the United States Japan and Malaysia These countries account for more than 35 percent of all sharks taken annually As per export data from the Marine Products Export Development Authority MPEDA in 20122013 India has supplied 75 tonnes of shark fins to China alone with a cost of 484 million According to the manager at Flora Chinese they donrsquot serve the soup but the menu tells another story PicFatema Pittalwala Rise Under the Environment Ministryrsquos ban fisheries are required to land sharks in coastal areas with their fins intact The ban is a strong tool to fight against the cruel practice of shark finning The practice of shark finning exploded worldwide due to the high demand from China In order to display their wealth and prosperity the Chinese unlike the rest who splurge on highend cars and designer clothing splurge on shark fin soup which is a delicacy in China Decline The population of sharks across the world is fast declining According to Samyukta the steep decline in shark population threatens the balance of the eco system She says ldquoSharks are at the top of the marine ecosystem and are crucial to maintaining a delicate marine ecosystem balance Definning sharks which leads to their death causes a great imbalance in the ecosystem by allowing unaccounted growth of the lower species of marine animals which these apex predators would normally feed on Tens of millions are caught every year Shark finning has also caused tremendous reduction in population numbers as it does not allow sufficient individual sharks to reach the age of sexual maturityrdquo According to Samyukta due to shark finning the population of already declining species such as whale sharks hammerheads and oceanic whitetip sharks is at risk She says that the ban is crucial as it will lead to better protection of sharks which is mandated under the Wildlife Protection Act and prevent overfishing fishing to a degree that upsets the ecological balance or depletion of the species Samyukta feels that the ban should have been implemented sooner but adds ldquoIndia being the worldrsquos second largest sharkfincatching nation has finally begun its journey towards caring about this important marine resource Going further we hope to work with all coastal states governments and other stakeholders such as fishermen to create the required awareness and sensitivity towards the need for shark conservation and its stringent applicationrdquo Awareness Highlighting that people are not much aware about the kind of cruelty that animals go through before they are purchased Samyukta says ldquoI believe there are very few people who are aware about where their food comes from and what kind of treatments the animals are put through before they arrive at your dining table fridge supermarket or even your local butcherrsquos shop We hope the ban will bring down the demand for fins India now needs to work on more measures for shark conservation such as developing a National Plan of Action NPOA on sharks as it is required to do according to the United Nationrsquos Food and Agriculture Organizationrdquo Popularity Talking about the popular shark fin soup Samyukta says ldquoHSI has already worked with some internationally renowned chains and got them to pledge against serving any shark fins in their restaurants We hope to begin the same process soon with leading establishments in India that serve sharkrsquos fin soup Most Indian fishermen catch sharks primarily for their meat bones and skin of the sharks are also regularly exported The demand for sharkrsquos fin is so high that sometimes one fin can garner 500 depending on the size quality and the species of sharkrdquo Fin dining not fine To find out how popular sharkrsquos fin soup is in Mumbai we made a dinner date at two city restaurants Flora Chinese in Worli one of the cityrsquos oldest Chinese joints was started by a Chinese family in the city Like any other customers we ordered the sharkrsquos fin soup priced at Rs 355 which arrived in 10 minutes The waiter mentioned that the soup was the most popular dish on the menu but they had to be discreet while serving it Manager Tony Leong 25 however says ldquoNo restaurant in Mumbai is allowed to serve this soup so we wouldnrsquot serve it either It is illegal In the old days we use to serve it but not any more I donrsquot know why anyone would tell you that we serve this souprdquo China Valley restaurant in Prabhadevi prices its sharkrsquos fin soup at Rs 230 The manager Jaywant Gadakh says ldquoOne kilogram of shark fins cost around Rs 4500 and we never get as much as we require Monthly we need at least two kilograms but we manage to get only half a kilo The demand for the soup is also not very high it is mainly the foreigners who order it like the Japanese or the Chinese The Indian customers donrsquot care much for this soup They are always looking for big chunks of fins in it We are definitely more conscious when we buy the fins but with this ban in place we will be more conscious now I will personally make sure that the exporters from whom we purchase the fins do not practice shark finning at seardquo Top 20 Shark catchers Indonesia 13 India 9 Spain 73 taiwan 58 Argentina 43 Mexico 41 Pakistan 39 USA 37 Japan 30 Malaysia 29 Thailand 28 France 26 Brazil 24 Sri Lanka 24 New Zealand 22 Portugal 19 Nigeria 17 Iran 17 UK 16 South Korea 14 20122013 India has supplied 75 tonnes of shark fins to China alone at a cost of 484 million