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Shark Fisheries and Product Sale Project

Ongoing awareness and education project component of the Pangaea Shark Project to investigate and show that Shark fisheries and derived product sale is an international problem requiring the attention of every country in the world

This project was initiated during the 2010 edition of European Shark Week to help raise awareness among the general public that issues related to the poorly regulated Shark fisheries and the sale of derived products thereof is not solely an Asian problem, but in fact a problem that every country in the world is responsible for.

The Young Explorer community spreads across the globe and reaches every country in the world. To make the most of this diversity and the international nature of the Pangaea Project, we called upon the Young Explorers to explore their community, their home shops to discover that Shark products (e.g. meat, fins, teeth, jaws, cartilage, etc) were sold everywhere on the planet. Shark fisheries is common to every part of every ocean and sea, and every fishing harbor around the globe has its Shark fishing boats.

We would like to enlist your help to gather information on Shark fisheries (if you live close to the ocean or sea) and the sale of Shark products in local restaurants and shops. We would like to gather as much information and especially document Shark products on the market worldwide with images (and video when possible).

We are looking for images taken in your neighborhood or while traveling, from Shark fisheries taken in harbors (e.g. fishing boats, Shark fishing in action, sports-fishermen with trophies, fishermen offloading boats, docks with Sharks, Shark fin drying farms, fishermen cutting off the fins, etc) and images of products taken in shops, supermarkets, fish markets or restaurants. We are looking for images that show the Shark product in detail, and also images that are wider, showing the shop (and shop's name), and include information on prices, date, time, place/location and the shop/restaurant contact details. Please send us your original high definition images along with a text files containing the information!

The aim of this project is to launch a global campaign showing how Sharks are caught, marketed and sold in every single region of the world (Australia / Europe / Africa / Asia / Middle East / America). One of the objective is obviously to inform people with examples that Shark products are sold worldwide, and to raise general awareness for the plight of Shark populations and species. We also aim at contacting the smaller businesses first and then approach larger enterprises to convince them to stop selling Shark products.

Here are the main Shark products found in your neighborhood:

- Shark meat: Shark meat is sold under many names in restaurants, canteens, fish & chips shops, and snack bars around the world, and not just in China or in Asian restaurants. Shark meat is either sold under the name of the Shark it came from, or, as is more often the case, disguised under a multitude of names:

English: flake, huss, rock salmon, rigg, sea ham

American: steakfish, grayfisch, whitefisch, cape steak

German: Seeaal, Schillerlocken, Kalbsfisch, Speckfisch, Karbonadenfisch, Königsaal, Steinlachs, Seestör

French: chiens, petite, roussette, rande roussette, taupe, veau de mer

Spanish: gallina del mar, alo rosado

Italian: palombo, smeriglio, gattucci, spinaroli, cani spellati

Greek: Galeos

Let's complete this list from your own research!

Of course, the sale of Shark meat means at least that the whole Shark is used and not just the fins. So why do we have an issue with this type of Shark fisheries? Chondrichthen fishes (i.e. fish with a cartilagenous skeleton: Sharks, Rays and Chimeras) have a very slow growth rate (e.g. a few centimeters per year), a late maturity (some Shark species only get mature after 20 years) and give birth to few offspring (as little as two every few years) following a long gestation period (over 20 months in some species). When you compare these basic life patterns to bony fish that grow to sexual maturity after only a few months and lay millions of eggs, which have the potential to regenerate the population, the conclusion is unilateral and this has been proven over and over again in many fisheries worldwide: there is NO sustainable Shark fisheries anywhere on the planet and there never will be! No country anywhere in the world has yet set any quotas for any Shark species, and most fisheries are not even recording species specific catches for Sharks. Present regulations and legislations cannot regulate the fisheries catch in either international waters (outside of territorial waters i.e. > 12 nautical miles from shore) and at least outside of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone i.e. > 200 nautical miles from shore).

- Shark fins: These images and associated information will be the most difficult and potentially dangerous to collect. Do not put yourself in a risky situation. You need to realize that Shark fin fishermen, traders, buyers and customers are increasingly aware of the bad image Shark finning has and do realise that they are part of one of the most wasteful and cruel industries in the world. You must realise that fin trade is very often linked to arms and drug trade, and as such controlled by mafias and triads. So be careful and only 'investigate' and document in public places you feel comfortable with.

Shark fins are considered as a delicacy in some parts of the world, notably East Asia, and is believed to have aphrodisiac values. A bowl of Shark fin soup can fetch more than 100$, making Sharks a prime target for fishermen. The demand for this product is rising as Asian population and economy is growing. Sharks are finned alive and left to die a slow and cruel death drowning in the depth of the oceans. The fins of a Shark amount to less then 5% of its total body mass, so 95% of the Sharks is generally discarded which represents a terrible waste.

A few years ago, environmental NGOs estimated that over 100 millions Sharks were slaughtered every year worldwide. This number speaks for itself. Nowadays, this estimate stands at around 60 to 70 millions Sharks. Not because Sharks are now better protected or fins are not on the high demand list, but simply because Shark populations are collapsing one after the other. A majority of Sharks are caught today for their fins. Some countries, a minority, have now banned landing of just the fins, and Sharks have to be landed with their fins still attached. You have to realise that while the prime consumer of Shark fins is China, every country in the world supplies China (mainly via Hong Kong). So this is a global problem.

In today’s oceans, out of a total of 1’044 species of Chondrichthyan fishes (Sharks, Skate, Rays and Chimeras), 181 species are listed in one of the endangered categories on the IUCN Red List, a further 134 species as near threatened, and more worryingly 488 species are listed under data deficient! Conclusion: the majority of all species are at risk!

- Souvenirs, jewelry and fashion - teeth, jaws and leather: Shark teeth and jaws are sold as ornaments, souvenirs and jewelry. Shark teeth are found in souvenir shops or markets around the world, and they are often also integrated in jewelry. The jaws from larger predatory Sharks (Great White Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Mako or Bull Sharks) can sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Because Sharks have been around for 400 million years and because they produce new teeth throughout their life, and hence loose hundreds or even thousands of teeth during their lifetime, one of the most abundant type of fossil found in the world are Shark teeth. Fossilized Shark teeth are fine to purchase! BUT not fresh Shark teeth that originate from live Sharks killed by fisheries. It is not always easy to differentiate fresh from fossilized teeth: in general pure white and smooth teeth are fresh, whereas fossilized teeth range in color from light tan to grey and are often a bit more rugged.

Shark skin is also used for making luxury high quality leather products (boots and shoes, handbags, wallets and purses, belts, watch straps, holsters and for ornamentation).

- Cartilage and liver oil: Shark cartilage is a hugely popular dietary supplement that has been credited with providing health benefits. There are unsubstantiated claims that Shark cartilage has curative and/or preventative powers in a variety of minor and major ailments. It has been used for everything from acne, asthma and eczema, to life-threatening diseases such as AIDS and cancer. But these claims have yet to be proven scientifically.

Unlike most other fish, Sharks lack a swim bladder that would allow them to stabilize vertically in the water column. Sharks are heavier than water and hence sink which is one of the reasons most Shark species continuously swim (the other reason being that Sharks have a less effective pumping system than most bony fish species which requires that they swim to get enough water passing through the gills to get the necessary oxygen). But Sharks can have very large livers, saturated with oils (i.e. lighter than water) that help them with buoyancy. Shark-based squalene has a readily available substitute on the market that comes from a purely vegetable origin. Rich in Vitamins A and D, omega-3 fatty acids and alkylglycerols, which have immune system enhancing properties, Shark liver oil also contains pristane, squalene, triglycerides, glycerol ethers, and fatty alcohols. Squalene is among the most widely used components of the oil. It is used internationally in cosmetics and as a lubricant, and is also a component of modern vaccines in the form of adjuvant. BUT Squalene can be obtained from olives (a component of olive oil) and it has the same qualities of animal-based squalene and is less expensive than the animal version.

Please join and participate in this project! With the information collected, we can make a difference in making the world understand that Sharks are hunted, slaughtered and traded everywhere on the planet, and most often in very cruel and wasteful manners, for dubious products with little value for human health. We obviously credit you for your input and work.