Often, only the fins are sliced off and the sharks are tossed back into the sea to die a slow and painful death. India has now placed all sharks on Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 making their killing illegal. But it will take more than this to stop the killing.
India, together with Indonesia and the Philippines, is one of the major sources for shark fins. This should now change as the Ministry for Environment and Forests has placed all sharks on Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. This move comes just weeks after the whale shark Rhinocodon typus was given Schedule I status. The whale shark notification has paid off already, with reports that only two whale sharks were killed this year, as against a figure of more than 1,500 last year, and these two were said to have been accidentally caught in fish nets.
Reefwatch Marine Conservation, together with Sanctuary, has been lobbying for greater protection of marine species for several months and had sought the help of Mrs. Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment. The MoEF notification, dated July 11, 2001 finally brought protection to species such as sharks, sea cucumbers, sea horses, sponges and corals.
The matter was personally handled by Mr. S.C. Sharma, Additional Inspector General of Forests (Wildlife) who has come in for praise from conservationists across the world for his accessibility and helpfulness in this matter. The notification has strengthened the hands of both the Coast Guard and forest departments of coastal states, which finally have the legal backing to protect species that have been over-exploited for years.
Two recent scuba diving surveys, one by Reefwatch-Sanctuary and the other by a United Nations Development Project (UNDP)-Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) team, revealed that shark populations had plummeted in the seas surrounding the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The culprits are largely poachers from Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand, who cut off the sharks' fins and throw the fish back into the sea to die an agonising death.
Shark fins are considered delicacies, especially in the Far East. In the past 10 years, the worldwide trade in shark fins is estimated to have increased by 2,500 per cent and shark fins are now valued at US $600 per kg. Ironically, the fins are virtually tasteless, but are usually shredded and used to thicken soup. Conservative estimates suggest that approximately 130 million sharks were caught worldwide in 2000. A recent Australian study found that an area where sharks had been fished out also showed an absence of spiny lobsters. It seems that in the absence of predation by sharks, the octopus population had multiplied and in turn decimated the lobsters.
Said Pradip Shukla, Field Director, Sundarbans Tiger Reserve: "Bringing sharks under Schedule I is a welcome move as they were being wiped out from the Sundarbans." Aside from sharks, the other species brought under the WLPA are sea horses, sea cucumbers, five varieties of corals and a number of mollusc species. These were based principally on lists prepared by marine biologist Sarang Kulkarni of Reefwatch (with inputs from others across the country). The hunting or collection of these species is now strictly prohibited. India thus joins several far-sighted countries across the world in attempting to protect them.
We urge you to send a letter of support to the Ministry of Environment for taking this important step.
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