KOCHI: Despite the Union Government imposing a ban on the export of shark fin, it seems the business is thriving in Kochi. According to environment activists, some agencies in Kerala are exporting dried shark fin categorising it as dried fish.
Though there is no domestic market as such, India is the second largest exporter of shark fin. It is in great demand in East Asian countries and the exorbitant prices are luring firms in Kochi to engage in the trade. The enforcement agencies, however, are unable to initiate action due to loopholes in the law.
More than the hunting of the endangered species, it is the inhuman act of finning that needs to be curbed, said environment activist M N Jayachandran. “They hunt the sharks, haul them onto the fishing vessel, slice off their fins and throw them back into the sea. With no fins, the sharks won’t be able to swim and they will starve and meet an agonising death. It’s hard to digest such inhuman act is committed in Kerala,” said Jayachandran. We had heard about finning in Gujarat, but it’s hard to digest such inhuman act is committed in a progressive state like Kerala.”
With unregulated fishing driving sharks to extinction, the Union Government banned export of shark fin based on the recommendation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on February 6, 2015. “We had seized shark fins from a company under the Wildlife Protection Act five months ago and sent the specimen for lab testing to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. However, the institute said the species doesn’t come under the Wildlife Act. So, we haven’t been able to proceed further.
Though there were allegations of finning, the firms involved claimed they were collecting the fins of sharks landing at Thoppumpady harbour,” said Kodanad Forest Range Officer Dhanik Lal.
According to a senior Forest Department officer, it is for the Customs Department to initiate action against the violators as the government has only banned shark fin export. But the Customs Department can initiate action only if it is exported.
“We have been tracking the landing in Hong Kong after India banned its export. As one of the largest shark catching nations, a ban in India should affect the availability of shark fin in the international market but it hasn’t happened,” Humane Society International India MD Jayasimha Nuggehalli told Express.