The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group
Shark News 2: October 1994
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Regional news
Shark finning in the Red Sea
During the summer of 1994, Yemeni fishing boats have been travelling
north into Sudanese and Egyptian waters catching and finning sharks.
Sha'ab Rumi reef, that normally hosts 30 or 40 grey reef sharks (and
other species) on its southern point has been cleaned out of sharks.
The fishermen were arrested by the Sudanese authorities after the
damage was done. Other Yemeni shark-fishing boats have been
spotted on Elba Reef on the Egyptian/Sudanese border, with shark fins
drying on their decks.
To my knowledge, finning is a new development in the region.
The diving industry of Egypt has a turn-over of many millions of
dollars annually and divers travel to these waters to see sharks. The
Sudan could support an equivalent tourist industry if it so desires,
provided that the shark populations of its reefs remain. On the other
hand, the fins of a dead shark are worth only a handful of dollars.
Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch
Canada
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ottawa, banned the finning
of sharks (removal and retention of fins and discard of the carcass) on
June 6, 1994. The Department has also produced a draft shark
conservation and management plan for controlling and monitoring
fisheries for mako, porbeagle and blue shark. The preparation of
this Plan followed extensive industry consultations, and it should
be completed and approved by the end of the year.
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