India Second in the List of Shark-Catching Nations

The predator of the marine world may be much feared in the waters, but it seems the shark is the one that is living a fearful life in the coastlines of India. According to a report compiled by TRAFFIC, a global wildlife trade monitor and the Pew Environment Group, India has been ranked second in a list of top 20 shark catching nations of the world. Surpassed only by Indonesia, this is a ranking that will shame conservationists across the nation.

With an annual average yield of over 74,000 tonnes India is responsible for 9 percent of the global catch of the different shark species. Indonesia has a 13 percent market share and Spain follows India with 7.3 percent. In 2008 India ranked 3 in the same list and the leap to the second spot is nothing to be proud of.

There are about 400 different species of shark in waters and these predators are highly misunderstood. While people fear the creatures, most of them are actually critically endangered and on the verge of extinction. Looking at the threat to their survival the Union Minsitry of Environment and Forest had banned shark-fishing a few years back but pressure from the fishing community led them to lift the ban in 2004.

Since then, the sharks swimming in Indian waters have lived a scared life. Fishermen catch them mainly for their fins that are served as part of exotic cuisine with a bowl of shark fin soup costing over $100. The fins are cut from live sharks and the dilapidated fish is thrown back into the waters to die a painful death. This is done to avoid adding tonnage to the trawlers.

What has surprised the makers of the list is that while India is placed second in shark-fishing, it does not feature in the list of countries that export shark. It is therefore highly probable that the export of the huge amount of sharks caught everyday is done illegally.

“Given that we catch over 70,000 tonnes of shark annually, we logically ought to have several thousand tonnes of fins too. But the fins are not showing up in the export data and there is no local consumption of fins,” says Samir Sinha, head of TRAFFIC in India. “So where are all these fins going?”

Ten years ago, member-countries of the Food and Agricultural Organisation’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI), including India, had agreed to adopt the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (IPOA-Sharks. But while the plans were formulated little was done in India to execute them and save the rampant killing of sharks.

Till recently India did not even have any sufficient data to show how many of the world shark species roamed in its waters. Estimates are that 18 of the 70 species found in Indian waters are fished. The Ministry earlier this year came up with a list of critically endangered shark species which included the Ganges Shark and the Pondicherry Shark, whose populations have fallen drastically owing to indiscriminate fishing.

What makes the shark population more vulnerable is that they mature late and breeding is slow.

Glenn Sant, the global marine programme leader at TRAFFIC, says, “Comprehensive measures to monitor and manage the catch of such species at sustainable levels are therefore required. However, this is not being demonstrated to be occurring in India at this time—or has been at any time in the past. There is great pressure at the international level for the top 20 shark-catching countries to take responsibility. India needs to take such responsibility and only allow for trade in shark products such as meat and fins that have been caught sustainably.”

India’s natural heritage does not start and end with tigers. There are a number of other species too that need immediate attention and if India does not gear up right now, there is much to be lost very soon.

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Article reference: Outlook India