News
India Bans Shark Finning
India’s ministry of environment has announced that it has banned the hunting of sharks for only their fins.
According to the new law, fishermen found with hauls of shark fins will face up to seven years in prison. Numerous shark species can be found in the waters off India’s coast, several of them endangered, including hammerheads, whale sharks and broadfins.
The practice of shark “finning,” or slicing off a shark’s fins and throwing it back to die slowly on the ocean floor, is big business thanks to demand from China, Hong Kong and other parts of Asia where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy.
India is the world’s second largest shark-catching nation after Indonesia, so it’s no surprise that the move has applauded by marine conservationists from around the globe.
However, with the majority of the finning and the trading of fins occurring offshore, experts are saying that it is vital that the ban is now enforced.
Rajeev Mathen Mathew, expert committee member of AP Biodiversity Board, says, “Sharks are caught offshore.
Fishermen on foreign vessels on the borders of territorial waters of India have been reportedly engaged in shark finning. It is very difficult to monitor these transactions offshore where the trading is done. The policy on paper will not help. There must be strict vigilance and it has to be implemented.”
C. Samyuktha of Humane Society International, says, “We are overjoyed at India’s decision to adopt a Fins Naturally Attached policy, which experts worldwide agree is necessary to protect sharks from the cruelty of finning. Humane Society International has been campaigning hard to see this policy enacted, and we are delighted that authorities have taken this crucial step.”
Bhanu Sridharan of Researchers for Wildlife Conservation said that in the long term the Central government must develop an effective mechanism for preventing illegal foreign fishing vessels from engaging in shark finning in Indian waters as this is detrimental to marine biodiversity and to the livelihoods of Indian fishing communities.
Provided the ban is seriously enforced, it will give sharks a fair chance of survival, which in turns helps maintain a balanced marine ecosystem, said Gajender Sharma of World Society for Protection of Animals.
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
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