Shark 'Finning' Condemned

December 1, 2007

Release from: Elise Vollweiler
The Nelson Mail (New Zealand)

Catching sharks for their fins and discarding the rest of the fish is "abhorrent" and is not condoned by the industry, fishing representatives say.

A Department of Conservation ranger came across 30 sand sharks with their fins cut off by commercial fishers in the waters of Abel Tasman National Park this week. Some of the fish were still alive when they were thrown back.

French Pass tour boat charter operator Danny Boulton said shark "finning" was common in the Marlborough Sounds.

But Federation of Commercial Fishermen president Doug Saunders-Loder said on Friday he thought the Abel Tasman incident was isolated, and he did not think shark finning happened on a large scale in the region.

In New Zealand, sharks can be legally caught and their fins removed, but the fish must be killed before being thrown back into the water. Mr Saunders-Loder said he did not know the details of the Abel Tasman incident but he felt that the sharks would have been bycatch.

There were several shark species, and some were part of the quota management system while others were not, he said.

Large numbers of dogfish and rig were caught in the region but were landed whole, with many different parts of the shark used.

His comments were backed by Federation of Commercial Fishermen chief executive Pete Dawson.

Mr Dawson said finning was more common overseas, but he did not think it occurred often here.

"I know there's an international code of practice that bans or at least discourages that sort of practice."

Mr Dawson said he did not know what the fins would have been used for, but he did not believe finning was particularly lucrative.

"We were discussing it at a meeting in Wellington a week ago, and generally the fishermen were saying it is not worth the effort."

Talaford Sea Products director Robert Lau said the company processed shark fins as one of the four main parts of its business.

He had never heard of finning occurring in the region before, and said the Abel Tasman incident had let down the whole industry.

Shark fins are sold in Asia, but Mr Lau declined to say how many his company processed or how much this was worth, citing commercial sensitivity.