The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group
Shark News 8: December 1996
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Costa Rica's Shark Fishery and Cartilage Industry
Merry Camhi, National Audubon Society, USA
Introduction
As in many other countries in the world, fishing pressure on sharks in Costa Rica has grown rapidly, largely in response to the demand for fins from Asia and improved local markets for meat. Since 1991, however, Costa Rica has established itself as the global centre of production for a new shark-derived product - shark cartilage pills. Demand for cartilage has grown dramatically since 1993 as a result of (unsubstantiated) claims that consuming pills of crushed shark cartilage can help to cure cancer and a plethora of other ailments (Lane and Cormac 1992, Luer 1994).
Tracking growth in cartilage production and markets is very difficult because producers are not forthcoming with information, cartilage is shipped back and forth between countries in various stages of processing, and international trade data on cartilage is virtually non-existent. Although shark meat, fins, oil, and liver oil production are reported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation they do not report data on shark cartilage production, and few countries report their cartilage exports or imports to their customs agencies.
In 1994, an article printed in National Audubon Society's Living Oceans News, and later reprinted in Shark News, Jimenez (1994) discussed the recent growth in Costa Rica's shark fishery and cartilage industry. This article is a follow-up on the Costa Rican situation.
Booming shark fishery
According to the Costa Rican Fisheries Institute (INCOPESCA), shark landings are recorded dockside by size rather than species. "Cazon" refers to all sharks that are estimated to weigh less than 10 kg and "posta" refers to sharks that weigh more than 10 kg. Although shark fishing occurs on both coasts, the Pacific fisheries account for more than 99% of the reported shark landings. (Heads and fins are sold separately, and the viscera is thrown away at sea, so reported landings are dressed weight, which is approximately 50% of whole weight.)
INCOPESCA reported 2,455 mt of shark landings from the Pacific in 1994, of which approximately 1,500 mt were cazon and 875 mt were posta. INCOPESCA, however, estimates that reported landings are actually 20%-30% below actual catches. Therefore, total landings of sharks on Costa Rica's Pacific Coast in 1994 were approximately 3,275 mt.
As for many other countries, shark catches in Costa Rica have grown steadily since the late 1980s (see Figure). Between 1988 and 1994, total reported landings on the Pacific Coast increased 2.7 times, from 916 mt to 2,455 mt. In addition, the average size of shark caught is decreasing: the cazon (<10 kg) to posta (>10 kg) ratio changed from 0.86 to 1.7 over the same period. Because there is no apparent reason why fishers would be targeting smaller sharks, the size trend is a strong indication that overfishing may be occurring. Apparently, the cartilage from any species of shark is used for pill production, so there are no 'preferred' species being targeted. More than 20 species of shark are being landed including Carcharhinus falciformes, Prionace glauca, Alopias superciliosus, C. longimanus, Sphyrna lewini, and Cetorhinus maximus. The average size of shark purchased by one cartilage processor is 20 kg dressed weight (dw). This suggests that more than 150,000 sharks are landed each year by Costa Rican fishers based on adjusted annual landings of 3275 mt.
This recent growth in shark fishing and landings may be due to a number of factors, including increased demand for shark fins (and possibly meat and cartilage), increased numbers of fishers and vessels on the water, and decline in traditional target species, such as swordfish, tuna, and dorado ( Coryphaena sp.). The ratio of sharks to these other, more valuable export species is also rising. Although catch per unit effort data are not available, anecdotal evidence suggests that fishers now must travel farther and stay on the water longer than they did a few years ago and are landing only 1/3 to 1/2 of their previous shark hauls (Dold 1996).
These indicators have led to rising concern over the status of sharks in Costa Rican waters. Even more worrisome is the extent of unregulated shark fishing within Cocos Island National Park, 300 miles west of Puntarenas (B. Lavenberg, pers. comm.).
Fishers from the Pacific port of Puntarenas (the base for 60% of the country's fishing fleet) are also fishing for sharks in international waters, as well in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and other countries. A video recording (February 1994) of sharks on the deck of a long-line vessel based in Puntarenas shows that Costa Rican fishers are still probably illegally taking sharks from the Galapagos Marine Resources Reserve.
Cazon are sharks weighing less than 10 kg and posta are sharks weighing more than 10 kg. Source: INCOPESCA.
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The cartilage boom
Until recently, shark heads were dumped overboard with the viscera. Growth in the cartilage industry, however, has led to increased retention of heads, which are kept with the torsos and fins on ice. Fins are cleaned, dried, and exported to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the US. The torsos are sold directly to supermarkets and seafood shops; once discarded, the shark spinal columns are now increasingly sold to cartilage processors. Spinal columns and heads are first sent to one of four locally owned cleaning plants, where the meat is removed and the spinal columns are augured. These plants then sell the cartilage to the country's largest shark buyer and cartilage processor, Corporacion Procesadora Cartilago, SA. This US-owned plant operates in a tax-free, export-only zone outside Puntarenas (which means that it must export all that it produces). In August 1994, it replaced a smaller plant owned by Shark Technology of Costa Rica that was started in 1991 by Dr I. William Lane (author of Sharks Don't Get Cancer).
The plant cleans and sterilises the cartilage and exports it as chips to its parent company in the US, where it is further sterilised, pulverised, and packaged for sale. The processed cartilage is destined for markets in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and other countries. According to the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Trade, Corporacion exported 131,275 kg of cartilage chips between 1 August 1994 (opening of plant) and 30 September 1995. This represents a monthly average of 9,375 kg/month, up from 1,365 kg in April 1993 (Jimenez 1994).
What does this mean in terms of the number of sharks needed to support this cartilage export? Fifty kg of 'green' cartilage are required to produce 1 kg of dried, processed cartilage (Jimenez 1994). This suggests that Corporacion is buying 470 mt of green cartilage per month. Although about 4% of a shark's weight is cartilage, 'green' cartilage is probably not fully cleaned of meat and other tissue and would therefore encompass a larger proportion of total body weight. Using 10% as the 'green' cartilage to body weight conversion, suggests that about 4,700 mt of whole shark (or 2,350 mt dw) could be needed to support this one plant's monthly production of processed cartilage. This monthly figure is extremely high, given that annual reported Costa Rican landings on the Pacific Coast are only 2,455 mt dw. The discrepancy can be explained in part by the fact that Corporacion does not depend solely on Costa Rican fishers as the source for their cartilage. The plant also imports cartilage for processing from Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Taiwan (Jimenez 1994).
Therefore, if we use an average dressed weight of 20 kg/shark, 235,000 sharks/month or more than 2.8 million sharks per year are being processed for cartilage pills in this one plant. Four other plants in Puntarenas also process cartilage for local consumption. One dealer in Puntarenas estimates that he alone provides Cartilago with cartilage from at least 111,000 large coastal sharks each year (Dold 1996).
Shark cartilage products found in Europe in 1996 during the TRAFFIC study of world trade in sharks. Photo: Elizabeth Fleming, TRAFFIC Europe.
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Cartilage - a driving force behind Costa Rican shark fisheries?
The cartilage industry has created a market for a former waste product and has increased the economic value of each shark caught. Although it is clear that Costa Rican fishers are catching more sharks than ever before, it is difficult to determine how much the growing demand for cartilage has contributed to this increased fishing pressure on sharks in Costa Rica and other Central and South American waters.
It is helpful to look at the economics. In 1995, heads were selling for about US$0.75/kg, although according to one dealer, a 22-kg shark (dw) can bring in $8 from its cartilage. By contrast, Costa Rican fishers make US$7-45/kg for fins. So assuming a 5% fin-to-body-weight ratio, a similar-sized shark could earn $15 to $100 for its fins, depending on the species. The market for shark meat is less valuable and more unstable: in 1995, meat prices fluctuated between US$0.25 and $1.80/kg (compared to US$4.70/kg for swordfish). But because meat can account for more than 40% of the body weight, it can bring in $15 as well.
Fins are clearly the most valuable shark part, but as one shark dealer in Puntarenas points out "Because they can sell everything, fisherman are dedicating themselves to sharks" (Dold 1996). Although most Costa Rican long liners still take sharks as bycatch, some fishers now target sharks. Questions remain concerning the fate of previously released small sharks or those of species not used for their fins; that is, are fishers now landing any and every shark they catch?
It is estimated that up to 100,000 people are currently using cartilage for cancer or as a dietary supplement (Dold 1996). Given the rapid rate of growth in the consumption of cartilage pills, the growing interest in alternative health products, and the size of the potential markets for such products, demand for cartilage is likely to grow and the value of cartilage may grow with it. Although cartilage may not replace fins as the most valuable shark product, it is clearly raising the overall value of each shark caught.
It is unlikely that shark cartilage is the driving force behind the Costa Rican shark fishery, but it could be leading to even higher fishing pressure. Shark fisheries are wholly unregulated in Costa Rica and there have been few studies of Costa Rica's sharks or the impact of increased fishing pressure. As demonstrated repeatedly, growing demand and growing profits make it increasingly difficult to implement precautionary and effective management, especially in export-driven fisheries.
Few fishers, shark scientists, or fishery managers would have predicted the rapid growth in shark fisheries in the late 1980s and 1990s that resulted from the growing demand for shark fins in the Asian markets. Reducing waste through full utilisation is laudable, but ensuring that shark populations can sustain the increased demand for new products like cartilage is more critical.
Literature cited
Dold, C. 1996. Shark Therapy. Discover Magazine (April): 51-57.
Jimenez, J. 1994. Disputed cancer 'cure' spells disaster for Costa Rica's sharks. Shark News 2 (October): 4.
Luer, C.A. 1994. Sharks and cancer - the real story. Shark News 2
(October): 5.
Lane, I.W. and L. Cormac. 1992. Sharks Don't Get Cancer. Avery Publishing Group (Garden City Park, N.Y.). 186 pp.
(Much of the information presented in this article was collected on behalf of the National Audubon Society by a source who asked to remain anonymous.)
Merry Camhi,
National Audubon Society, Scully Science Center,
550 South Bay Avenue, Islip, NY 11751, USA.
email: mcamhi@audubon.org
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