Drops in the ocean

It's the biggest and the bloodiest of all the killer sharks, a predator with a terrifying reputation and which grows to more than six metres in length and tears the flesh of its victims apart with rows of razor-sharp teeth more than 5cm long. It's the stuff of nightmares - and it needs our help.

The Great White Shark, demonised by the 1975 movie Jaws and suffering more bad press from the latest scare-flick, Open Water, is one of three species of shark that Hong Kong now has a duty to help protect by monitoring the vast traffic in fins, meat, skin, liver oil, cartilage and teeth that passes through the territory. Along with the Basking Shark and the Whale Shark, the Great White has been listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) to which Hong Kong is a signatory - meaning that from September 1, anyone caught moving unauthorised shipments of parts from the three species is liable to a fine of up to $5 million and up to two years in jail.

For Hong Kong, the listing represents a daunting challenge. About 11,000 tonnes a year - 50 per cent of the world's trade in shark's fins - pass through the territory, 80 per cent of it on its way to the mainland, where it's processed. Imports to Hong Kong have soared by 3,000 tonnes a year since 1998 as increasingly wealthy diners on the mainland and around Asia develop a sharper appetite for shark's fin soup. Now, as the Cites regulations come into effect, wildlife watchdog Traffic East Asia has produced a report that questions whether officials in Hong Kong and the mainland have the necessary bite to keep the trade under proper scrutiny - and crucially, whether they're prepared to divert enough resources to tackle the potential threat to the three species of shark.

'It's like the Bible story of David and Goliath,' said Traffic spokesman Samuel Lee Kwok-hung, referring to the scale of the task facing officers from the Customs and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation (AFCD) departments who jointly check incoming cargo at the airport and container terminal.

'Hong Kong is the biggest port in the world in terms of the number of containers coming in and going out,' he said. 'Customs can only randomly select containers to do the spot check. As far as we know, they have a 100 per cent document check, but people may wrongly declare or underdeclare things.'

Shark's fins come from about 80 different sources, but predominantly Spain, Taiwan, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, and nearly 70 per cent arrives by sea. Much arrives unprocessed and is shipped on to factories in Jiangmen, Shunde, Nanhai and Zhongshan in Guangdong.