Opinion | Jailing Indonesians for shark-finning in Australia doesn’t solve the real driver – poverty

Instead of knee-jerk solutions like fines and jail terms, Australia could help Indonesia improve fishing sustainability and tackle coastal poverty

Shark fins, sought mainly in Chinese markets for high-status soup and traditional medicine, is gaining popularity in parts of Southeast Asia

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An Indonesian fisherman cuts the fin of a shark in Lampulo fish market in Banda Aceh. Desperate Indonesian fishers are setting out across the Arafura Sea in record numbers, with 46 fishing boats detected since June. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00pm, 7 Dec 2022Updated: 8:41pm, 7 Dec 2022

Last week, four Indonesian fishermen were convicted for taking shark fins and poaching fish in Australian waters. They were spotted off the remote Niiwalarra Island, formerly known as Sir Graham Moore Island, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, more than 150 nautical miles inside Australia’s exclusive economic zone.

But is fining them up to A$6,000 (US$4,015) – a significant sum for these men – likely to stop sharks being killed? Hardly.

The reality is, they have no capacity to pay the sum. Instead, they will likely serve a month or so in jail and return to Indonesia. There, they will face the same problem driving them into Australian waters – poverty.

Shark fins are sought mainly in Chinese markets for use in a high-status soup and in traditional medicine. Photo: AFP

Desperate Indonesian fishers are setting out across the Arafura Sea in record numbers, with 46 fishing boats detected since June. Many gamble with their lives and some have lost. Authorities have found illegal fishing camps on Niiwalarra Island, alongside shark carcasses with their fins taken.

Shark fins are sought mainly in Chinese markets for use in a high-status soup and in traditional medicine. Demand has seen wholesale slaughter of these predators, essential to the proper functioning of ocean ecosystems. We’re hardly blameless – Australia exports tonnes of shark fin each year. We have to find a better way of protecting sharks in our waters – some of the last healthy populations on the planet.

Risky business

While Indonesia’s economy is growing strongly, there remains a huge divide between rich and poor. The waters around its thousands of islands are fished heavily, and Indonesian fishers catch 7 million tonnes a year, second only to China.

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