Indian sharks on a steep decline
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) India, recently ranked India second after Indonesia on the global list of shark fishing nations. It states that fishing of the species in the country has progressed from being “incidental” to “targeted”.
Out of six river-shark species in the world, Glyphis gangeticus or the Ganges shark is one of the 20 most threatened shark species and is listed as a Critically Endangered species in the IUCN Red-list. This specie inhabits River Hooghly in West Bengal, as well as the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi in Bihar, Assam and Orissa.
According to the WWF India, under the Wildlife Protection Act of India 1972, out of the 88 shark species found in Indian waters, four – whale shark (Rhincodon typus), Pondicherry shark (Carcharhinus hemiodon), Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus) and the speartooth shark (Glyphis glyphis) -have been listed as ‘protected’ under Schedule I and their hunting, exploitation and trade is banned.
The sharks are hunted for their fins and the process of slicing off the fins is called finning. The shark fins are used to export and are in huge demand in China. The growth of shark finning can largely be attributed to the Chinese market which is posing a major threat to the world’s oldest vertebrates. The collagen fibres are extracted, cleaned and processed to make soups, which are a delicacy and extensively used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is considered healthy and full of nutrients. The fins are dried, stacked, and sold. And it is a billion dollar business in the global market.
In 2014, Indian fishermen exported $4.8 million in shark fins to China, less than half the $11.3 million in 2010 exports despite steady demand, according to data from India’s Marine Products Export Development Authority.
However, the fishermen now feel that the numbers of sharks they’ve been able to catch has definitely come down drastically and in the future the decline will continue unless the state governments act quickly and work to enforce the banning policy strictly and punish the guilty.
Most sharks have eight fins. Sadly, after finning, the shark is thrown back into the sea. The mutilated sharks are mostly alive, but immobile. The movement ensures that the animal gets its required dose of oxygen from gills. Like other fish, sharks too extract oxygen from seawater as it passes over their gills. However, unlike other fish, shark gill slits are not covered, but lie in a row behind the head. So they sink to the bottom and die either through suffocation or starvation or are attacked by other predators. This again poses threat to the health of the ocean’s or river’s ecosystem. Luckily, in India, shark fish is fully used and follows a ‘zero waste’ policy. After finning, the shark’s body is used for food and the bones exported.
Sharks have an implication on the entire ecosystem, including the coral reefs. Sharks reach maturity at a later age and hence produce less number of off springs. Their killing at a younger age results in the reduction of overall population. On the other hand, Shark fins collected from various parts of the country are exported to Southeast Asian destinations through Chennai, according to Zoological Survey of India and Humane Society International conducted in 2014.
While 75 tonnes were exported to China, another 14 tonnes went to Southeast Asian countries, and nearly a tonne was sent to the US.
–windowtonews
