Carisma Kapoor The New Straits Times 13 Mar 12;
Expert says only some of the 60 species are endangered
A blanket ban on shark hunting in Malaysian waters cannot be imposed as not all species fall under the endangered category, said Department of Fisheries senior researcher Ahmad Ali.
He said there were more than 60 species of sharks, including the grey bamboo shark, Indonesian bamboo shark, grey carpet shark, whitecheek shark, blackspot shark, pacific spadenose shark and milk shark in the our waters
They were among the most common species which were caught.
Only a few species have been confirmed as endangered, he said, naming the whale shark which was protected under the Fisheries Act 1985 and under the Fisheries (Control of Endangered Species of Fish) Regulations 1999.
Any person who fished, disturbed, harassed, caught, killed, took, possessed, sold, bought, exported or transported any endangered species except with the written permission from the director-general of Fisheries could be fined an amount not exceeding RM20,000, or jailed two years, or both.
Ahmad, who is also the Southeast Asia co-regional vice-chairman of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Shark Specialist Group, said it was difficult to enforce a total ban on sharks as the production of shark meat was at a sustainable level.
"Shark production is less than one per cent of marine life production.
"The amount produced ranges from 0.6 to 0.9 per cent and is very difficult to control."
He said fishermen here did not practise finning sharks and throwing them back into the sea as shark meat, which could fetch up to RM10 a kilogramme, was too valuable.
It was earlier reported that Sabah was in consultation with Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to amend the federal law by introducing a ban on shark hunting in the state by year end.
Gani told the New Straits Times he had not heard about the amendment proposal from the state yet.
"But the state should be familiar with policies on marine life so there should be no problem with appealing for the ban to be imposed."
