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  Straits Times Forum Online 3 Oct 05
Shark extinction remains a real threat
Letter from Wu Tzong Kwang

IN THE article 'Protests fail to sink shark's fin demand' by Vince Chong (ST, Sept 23), the statements made by shark's fin merchants to defuse concerns regarding shark declines were inaccurate.

First, Ms Patricia Li refers to 'aquatic farms' which, in fact, do not exist. Sharks mature late (often in their teens), have an extended gestation period (up to two years for some) and produce few offspring (as few as two pups in a litter). This makes it economically unfeasible to farm sharks, as no investor will put a huge sum of money in shark farming, only to yield limited returns a decade later.

Ms Li also suggested that her company's shark's fins were sourced from 'licensed fisheries which harvest fins only from non-endangered species'. What she failed to mention is that it is often the 'licensed' fisheries that flout local and international laws.

In Costa Rica, for example, 'licensed' Taiwanese fishermen have admitted they 'fin' sharks regularly - a practice that contravenes domestic shark finning laws. In Ecuador, 'licensed' fishermen regularly encroach on protected marine reserves to target sharks. The same is happening in many 'licensed' fisheries across the world.

Furthermore, most, if not all, shark fishing nations do not record species-specific data on shark catches. After fins are removed from sharks out at sea, they are purposely all lumped together to make it nearly impossible to accurately distinguish one species from another, endangered or not.

In addition, the claim by Mr Benny Chan that hammerhead sharks breed quickly is inaccurate. Hammerheads are, in fact, slow breeders, reaching sexual maturity at about 15 years. Therefore, they are unable to withstand intense fishing pressure and are extremely susceptible to overfishing.

This is illustrated in a 2003 study that showed hammerhead sharks in the North Atlantic Ocean have declined by up to 89 per cent in the past 15 years.

Despite these inaccurate statements, the merchants did get one thing right - sharks have become rarer.

To date, there are more than 200 species listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Animals (including the hammerhead shark).

More shark species are expected to be listed in the next few years.

Unless action is taken to reduce shark fin consumption, the disappearance of sharks from our oceans remains an imminent threat.

Wu Tzong Kwang
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