Marshall Islands sends message with disposal of confiscated shark fins
The gesture underscored the progress made towards protecting the marine predators since the Marshalls declared a two million square kilometre shark sanctuary in 2011, Angelo Villagomez from the US-based Pew Charitable Trusts said.
The Marshall Islands symbolically disposed of confiscated shark fins at sea yesterday in a ceremony witnessed by regional leaders attending the Pacific Islands Forum.
The gesture underscored the progress made towards protecting the marine predators since the Marshalls declared a two million square kilometre shark sanctuary in 2011, Angelo Villagomez from the US-based Pew Charitable Trusts said.
Villagomez said some commercial tuna fishermen still illegally cut the fins from sharks, even though they earned very little from the practice.
"Fishermen only receive a few dollars (per fin)," he said. "But once they are processed in China and sold in Hong Kong restaurants, the price can be as high as US$1,500 per kilo."
The fins that were dumped off the capital, Majuro, were confiscated from a Chinese long line fishing vessel earlier this year that was fined US$125,000.
Marshall Islands law requires that confiscated fins be burnt or dumped at sea, although Villagomez said since the theme of this year's forum was reducing climate change "we thought it was better not to burn the fins".