Time to ditch the shark fins, says Maldives minister

China should gradually phase out shark fin imports, the Maldives fisheries minister said yesterday during a visit to Seafood Expo Asia in Hong Kong - a city known as the "shark fin capital of the world".

Dr Mohamed Shainee, the island nation's minister of fisheries and agriculture, called on restaurants and retailers in Hong Kong - where about half the global trade in shark fins takes place - to start looking for alternatives.

Preserving the predator was important to sustain the ecosystem, he said at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Shainee added that shark protection areas had been set up off the Maldives before the country imposed a complete ban on shark fishing two years ago. Similarly, other countries could take a gradual approach in favour of an eventual ban.

"I won't say ban all [shark] fishing at once. But people should slowly change to other types of jobs," he said. "Restaurants can develop other types of soups to replace shark's fin soup."

The Maldives is also proud of its sustainable fishing. Fish, including tuna, are caught one at a time using pole and lines instead of nets, so no other marine creatures are caught unintentionally.

Sustainability is a hot topic as the appetite for seafood continues to grow. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations predicts that per capita consumption of fish will reach 20.9kg in 2023, up from 19.2kg last year.