Cape Town – The illegal shark finningthat shook Cape Town Harbour this week is only the tip of the iceberg according to Lesley Rochat, shark specialist and conservationist. Rochat, the founder of AfriOceans Conservation Alliance, pleaded that more inspections of fishing boats needs to be made in South African waters. The inspections need to be made to stop the illegal fishing of sharks and the practice of finning were the fins of live sharks are being removed and then just dumped back in the ocean. Inspectors of the Department of Tourism and Environment have during a surprise inspection layed claim to more than 1.6 tons of dried shark fins on a boat called the Chien Jui No 102, that sails under the Taiwanese flag.

The department described this as the biggest catch in the past few years. The boat has since been impounded and a case has been made against the fisherman/crew, on grounds of the number of fins in relation to the number of shark found on board. According to international regulations, the weight of the total amount of fins found on board may not exceed a fifth of the weight of the sharks carcassesfound on board. The reason for this is to prevent fisherman from throwing sharks back into the ocean after finning them. According to ms Carol Moses, a spokesperson of the department, the boat only declared 100kg of fins when they applied for permission to enter the South African waters Exclusive Economy Zone (370km around the south African coast.) They laid claim to 2 tons of dead sharks in the case of the Chien Jui No102.

Shark researchers have appealed to anglers not to remove tags from sharks they catch because crucial information could be lost after a well-meaning angler removed one.

A ragged tooth shark called Lesley was caught a week ago in Struisbaai by an angler who released her but removed her spaghetti tag... meaning researchers will no longer be able to keep tabs on her.

The shark, named after Lesley Rochat, founder of the AfriOceans Conservation Alliance, was first tagged in Struisbaai in 2006 as part of the Save Our Seas Foundation M-Sea Programme, a shark conservation project, which began with the release of a ragged tooth called Maxine from the Two Oceans Aquarium in 2004.  Read more...

In the September issue of the award winning conservation and environmental magazine, Africa Geographic, I have written an article about our raggie release programme, for which Mighty Maxine was the icon. To read the article go to the AfriOceans homepage and download a pdf, and watch the video, A Shark's Legacy, above, which summarizes the article. And please help us to help them and sign the PETITION for protection of our sharks, which we are preparing to submit to government. Thank you! Go to my blog to read more...

Here I am with confiscated fins over 5 years ago - what has changed? Nothing...

It has been brought to AfriOceans Conservation Alliances (AOCA) attention that the 2 tons of shark fins confiscated off the Chien Jui, a Taiwanese flagged vessel, in March 2009 will be put out to public tender and sold. The money raised will go back to MCM. The fins will therefore land up where they were always destined to, as shark fin soup in the Far East. We find this very disturbing news as it means that MCM are indirectly supporting the illegal shark fin trade and even making money out of it. They are also therefore participating directly toward the extinction of many shark species – over 100 shark species listed on the IUCN Red List are threatened with extinction due to overexploitation, largely as a result of the illegal shark fin trade. Global concern of plummeting shark populations is increasing as many species have declined by over 90% due to overfishing.

Considering that there are very few buyers for the fins there is also the possibility of the fins being legally bought back by the perpatrators. This does not show the South African government in a favorable light, in fact it makes them partners in crime of one of the most barbaric and cruelest trades in animal parts that exists. The selling of confiscated goods is apparently legislated according to the Living Marine Resources Act but this urgently needs to be amended. The decision to sell the fins is very short sighted, morally and principally wrong particularly for a country that bans shark finning. It indicates that making money is more important to MCM than fulfilling their mandate to protect marine resources, in particular those under severe threat. AOCA believes that the fins should be destroyed, a statement made to the world that South African does not condone illegal fishing practices, will have nothing to do with it, and supports the much needed conservation of sharks. AOCA wishes to open discussion with MCM in this regard, to encourage a long term view in favour of the conservation of sharks, versus the current short term financial gain view they hold. It is our hope that the decision to sell the fins will be withdrawn. The cost of bad publicity that selling the fins will generate for MCM on an international level will far outweigh the money made on the sale.

Watch my space, Lesley