Food operators rebuff Sabah’s proposed shark hunting ban

Ruben Sario The Star 9 May 11;

KOTA KINABALU: Restaurateurs here are questioning the Sabah government's proposed move to ban shark hunting.

Describing the proposal as “not making sense”, Sabah Restaurant Association chairman Lim Vun Chen said sharks should be allowed to be harvested like any other marine creature.

He also claimed that many fishermen, especially in Sabah's east coast, depended on sharks for their livelihood.

Lim, the Pan-Malaysia Restaurant and Chef Association vice-president, said the perception that sharks were only hunted for their fins was wrong as their flesh, skin and even bones were much in demand.

“The skin is used for fish maw soup, the bones are also made into soup or dried and ground into powder and made into capsules as some believe these contain medicinal properties.

“Shark's skin now fetch between RM20 to RM30 a kilo while the flesh is sold for RM8 a kilo. The fishermen are making a decent living from this creature. Why deny them their livelihood?” he added.

He said the effectiveness of Sabah's efforts to conserve sharks was also questionable if there was not a worldwide fishing ban.

“We conserve our sharks here, but then they swim out to the South China Sea and get caught by the Chinese or Vietnamese fishermen instead. What is the point?” Lim added.

He also noted that most shark fins served in the state were imported from nearby countries.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said on Saturday the state government was studying the legal aspects on the proposed shark hunting ban.

He said the move that would require amendments to the State Wildlife Protection Ordinance would be introduced by year-end.

Masidi said it was important to start protecting the marine creature as its population had dwindled to only 20% of its original population.

He said that in Sabah, sharks could only be spotted in four areas and if nothing was done, the creature could disappear entirely as had happened in waters off the peninsula.

Other measures include getting Malaysia Airports Berhad to bar retailers from selling shark fins in airports in the state while the state had also taken shark fin soup off the menu of its official functions.

Chinese groups back plan to ban shark hunting
The Star/Asia News Network Asia One 8 May 11;

PETALING JAYA: Chinese groups here have come out in support of the proposed ban on shark hunting by the Sabah government.

Malaysia Chinese Food Consumer Association vice-chairman Wilson Chia said shark hunting is a cruel act and his association fully supports the ban.

He said the association also discouraged the community from choosing shark fin soup as the main course during functions.

"The dish can easily be replaced with abalone or prawns," he said.

The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia deputy secretary-general Dr Chin Yew Sin welcomed the proposed ban and called on the Chinese community to also support the move.

"We have hundreds of other dishes to choose from besides shark fin soup," he said, adding that restaurants also had various substitutes for the delicacy.

Malaysian Nature Society urged the state government to not just ban shark hunting but the consumption of shark fin soup as well.

"We hope Sabah will serve as an example for other states," said its head of communications Andrew Sebastian, adding that it had been campaigning against the consumption of shark fin since 2007.

Malaysian Animal Welfare Society president Shenaaz Khan called for the hunting ban to be extended to other wildlife as well.

She said many people would not consume shark fin if they were aware of how shark fins were obtained.

"The fishermen just cut off the shark's fins before throwing the animal back into the sea to die," she said, adding that many restaurants were becoming more environmentally conscious and had taken the delicacy off their menus.

Malaysian state plans ban on shark hunting
Associated Press Yahoo News 9 May 11;

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian state plans to ban shark fishing in a bid to bolster tourism and conserve a species hunted mainly for fins that are used to create a culinary delicacy, an official said Monday.

Masidi Manjun, tourism, culture and environment minister in eastern Sabah state on Borneo island, said local activists and foreign tourists have complained about cruel shark finning activities by local fishermen.

He said the state government is aiming to impose the ban starting next year. It would make Sabah the first state in Malaysia — one of the world's top shark-catching countries — to impose such a ban.

While there is no official data on the shark population, Masidi estimated only 20 percent of sharks spotted in the state 15 years ago are still in Sabah waters.

"There are only four coastal areas now where sharks can be spotted," he told The Associated Press. "If we don't do something about it, sharks may disappear from our waters completely. We will also lose tourism dollars."

Tens of millions of sharks are killed across the globe every year, mainly for their fins. Activists say finning is inhumane and a threat to the ocean ecosystem because fishermen slice the fins off the shark and toss the fish back into the water to die.

Shark fin soup, widely sold across Asia, can sell for more than $80 a bowl and is often served at weddings and banquets as a symbol of wealth.

Restaurant operators in Sabah oppose the ban, saying that sharks are also harvested for their flesh, skin and bones, which can be made into soup.

"We conserve our sharks here, but then they swim out to the South China Sea and get caught by Chinese or Vietnamese fishermen instead. What is the point?" said Sabah Restaurant Association chairman Lim Vun Chen.

Masidi said the state would not ban the importation and sale of shark fins for now but would educate consumers on the cruelty of shark finning. Sabah's government has already taken shark fin soup off the menu for official functions, he said.

Tourism is a major revenue earner for Sabah, which is famed for the rich biodiversity in its rain forests and dive sites teeming with coral reefs and marine life.

Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network, says up to 73 million sharks are killed annually. Malaysia ranks among the world's top 10 shark-catching countries, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.