India has moved a step closer to ending the cruel process of “shark finning”, driven by the shark-fin trade.
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has issued an advisory to Indian coastal states fisheries to help end this practice by having fishermen land sharks with their fins “naturally attached”.
This meant that a shark can be finned only at a port or a harbour and not on the boat in the high seas, explained C.Samyukta, a campaign manager for wildlife with Humane Society International/India (HSI).
Earlier, fishermen would catch sharks, cut the fins on their boats and throw the still living animal back into the water, where they die a slow and painful death, she said.
The advisory is double-edged in that it prohibits finning on the boat by Indian or foreign vessels. It also discourages fishermen from catching protected species of sharks and passing their fins off for a regular species, as enforcers would not be able to identify the difference from just the fins, she added.
Besides, since several other countries have a policy against selling only fins, foreign vessels too have no market and hence no incentive, if they undertake illegal finning in Indian waters, she explained.
The AWBI’s advisory adds power to existing wildlife protection laws in the country and advocacy groups are pushing for the Indian Government to adopt the shark “fins naturally-attatched” policy.
'Fins naturally attached’
In the advisory, Uma Rani, AWBI secretary said that since shark finning involved mutilation of an animal, it was a violation and punishable offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960.
AWBI is a statutory body under India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests concerned with raising awareness about the inhumane treatment of animals as well as protecting animals from unnecessary pain and suffering.
Following the advisory, HSI, in collaboration with the Association of Deep Sea Going Artisanal Fishermen, renewed their appeal to the MoEF to consider adopting “a shark fins naturally attached” policy. The appeal marks the International Shark Week.
Trade
India is reportedly the second-largest shark-catching nation in the world, according to a study by the European Commission, the HSI said. Indian fishermen catch sharks primarily for their meat, though they do export fins too, it added. The fins from millions of sharks are used to supply the worldwide demand for shark fins and fin products each year. And unlike other fish species, sharks produce few pups, and thus, many species are endangered and threatened due to the fin trade, HSI said.