The China Post/Asia News Network AsiaOne 28 Jan 11;
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Local people's lust for shark-fin soup has again become the target of international criticism as a report issued Thursday listed Taiwan as one of the world's "Top 20" shark catchers, although local officials said the country has done much to protect the fish.
The report, released by the British conservation group TRAFFIC and the U.S. Pew Environment Group, said a United Nations' scheme to preserve the world's sharks has been a resounding failure and pinned the blame on Indonesia, India, Spain, Taiwan and 16 other major catchers of the fish.
Responding to the report, a fishery official said Taiwan has spared no efforts in shark conservation in recent years, including prohibiting shark finning, a practice in which sharks are specifically targeted, their fins removed and their bodies thrown back into the sea.
Last year, a Taiwanese fishing vessel was caught by the South African authorities for violating shark fishing regulations. In addition to having its catch seized by South Africa, the fishing boat was barred by Taiwan's government from operating for three months and its captain received a one-year ban on shipboard work, the official said.
He added that the Fisheries Administration under the Council of Agriculture will implement a new restriction this year, under which fishermen will be required to unload shark's fins and bodies simultaneously to more effectively prevent them from throwing shark's bodies back into the sea.
The current regulation allows fishermen to unload shark's fins and bodies separately, which he said makes it difficult for fishery officials to identify whether the ratio of fins exceeds the cap of 5 per cent of the fish's body mass and whether the shark species are banned.
The newly released TRAFFIC report called for a far-reaching review next week when members of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) meet in Rome.
The Jan. 31-Feb. 4 meeting of the FAO's Committee on Fisheries will look at a 2001 International Plan of Action for conserving sharks, skates and rays.
The plan sets out a 10-point set of guidelines for ensuring that shark catches are sustainable and binds signatories to set up a national plan and assess its implementation every four years.
Since then, massive overfishing - especially to serve the East Asian lust for shark-fin soup - has contributed to a plunge in shark numbers, according to the TRAFFIC report.
As many as 73 million sharks are killed each year and nearly a third of shark species are now threatened or near-threatened by extinction, the report said.
It pointed the finger at the "Top 20" catchers, identified from data reported to the FAO, which account for more than 640,000 tons annually, or nearly 80 per cent of the world total.
"Only 13 of the Top 20 have developed national plans to protect sharks ... and it remains unclear how those plans have been implemented or if they have been effective," it said.
Heading the list is Indonesia, which accounted for 13 per cent of global reported shark catches, followed by India (9 per cent), Spain (7.3 per cent) and Taiwan (5.8 per cent).
Other major catchers are Argentina (4.3 per cent), Mexico (4.1 per cent), Pakistan (3.9 per cent), the United States (3.7 per cent), Japan (3 per cent) and Malaysia (2.9 per cent).
Conservationists say that sharks, sadly demonized in movies and folk culture, play a vital role in ensuring a balanced marine environment.
-- The China Post/Asia News Network
