Focus Taiwan 21 Nov 12;
Taipei, Nov. 21 (CNA) The capture of 23 rarely seen large sharks off Taiwan's coast over the past decade has prompted local animal protection groups to urge the government to extend the existing ban on catching whale sharks to cover more shark species.
Chen Yu-min, a director of the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan, said at a news conference Wednesday that the accidental catching of a pregnant great white shark Nov. 14 off Taitung County on Taiwan's eastern coast has drawn international concern.
The shark, carrying nine pups, was sold for NT$185,000 (US$6,374.50), with one shark pup kept as a specimen and the remaining eight discarded, Chen said.
Speaking on the same occasion, Hu Yi-min, an instructor at National Chiao Tung University, said that in South Africa, a single shark can generate an average US$100,000 in tourism revenue per year.
"It's deplorable that in Taiwan, a great white shark carrying nine pups was killed and one of her pups made into a specimen before it was even born," Hu said, adding that the incident has prompted Internet users from around the world to leave messages on Facebook pages of the Global Shark Conservation Initiative and the Australian Anti-Shark Finning Alliance to push Taiwan to improve its shark protection measures.
Like the whale shark, the great white and the basking shark have been listed on Appendix II of the Washington Convention CITES as endangered species in which international trade is prohibited, Chen said.
While Taiwan has prohibited fishing, domestic trading, possession, import and export of whale sharks since 2007, it has not implemented such an across-the-board ban on great whites or basking sharks.
Under current regulations, violators of the whale shark fishing ban face jail terms of up to three years plus a maximum fine of NT$150,000.
The Fisheries Administration under the Council of Agriculture even offers a financial incentive of NT$30,000 (US$1,027) for anyone who accidentally catches a whale shark and hands it over for scientific study through electronic tagging.
"We hope the Fisheries Administration will offer similar protection for great white sharks, basking sharks and megamouth sharks," Chen said.
In response, Chou Ching-ho, a Fisheries Administration official, said the government already forbids exports of any of the three shark species mentioned by Chen, in accordance with the CITES stipulation.
As for whether to bar domestic trade in those shark species, Chou said further studies, including obtaining the opinions of local fishermen, will be needed before any decision can be made.
"The economic value of the three shark species is not high and we'll discuss with fishing industry representatives whether to ban domestic trade involving them," Chou said.
According to Chou, it took many years for his agency to prepare for the ban on whale shark fishing ban.
(By Yang Shu-min and Sofia Wu)
