Philippine Government Warns Locals On Hunting Thresher Sharks

March 23, 2008

Release from: AHN

The Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) warned all local fishermen who relentlessly hunt for the rapidly shrinking population of thresher sharks in the south coast of Luzon island.

The order was immediately issued after disturbing reports on wholesale killing of thresher sharks in Verde Passage have reached the Philippine government. The information has also caused outrage from among local environmentalists.

DENR Secretary, Lito Atienza, expressed his indignation over this aggravating environmental concern saying that the increasing reports on hunting and slaughtering of thresher sharks, threaten the ecological balance in the region's richest fishing ground.

Found between Batangas province and Mindoro island, Verde Passage is described by scientists as the "center of the center in marine resources." According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it has the highest concentration of marine life in the world.

Thresher sharks are hunted down by fishermen mainly for two reasons. Belonging to the mackerel shark type, they have delectable meat good for canning. Secondly, these sharks are hunted for their prized fins, considered as main ingredients for expensive Chinese delicacy.

A research conducted in 2002 attested that dried fins were sold for $744 per kilogram and shark fin soup would cost $150 in Hong Kong.

In the mean time, Secretary Atienza sought the help of government patrols, police authorities and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to arrest violators and to preserve thresher sharks in the region.