Animal rights fury as shark paraded in street... then eaten
A SEAFOOD festival has been condemned after a dead shark was paraded through the streets before being chopped up and served to crowds.
The endangered blue shark was hoisted in the air by two men and carried through a busy street in Plymouth to a stage for a cookery demonstration.
A photograph of the scene was posted on Visit Plymouth’s official Instagram page, which was being managed by The Boathouse cafe to promote its demo.
The image – which has now been deleted – was shared with the caption: ‘We have a blue shark here today. Ben will be cooking it later on this evening.’
The Plymouth-based Ocean Conservation Trust led criticism of the cookery session on the city’s historic Barbican at the weekend.
‘We do not condone the eating of blue shark and were disappointed to see that a blue shark was shown off at the “catch of the day” session, as well as being featured on the chef’s stage,’ it said.
It is understood the shark was landed as ‘by-catch’, where unwanted fish are trapped by commercial fishing nets by mistake. Sarah Gibson, head of the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, which organises the festival, said: ‘We were surprised and very disappointed that this year’s event saw the inclusion of a shark which we understand was caught as bycatch and was featured on the chef ’s stage by a contributing organisation. We would not have allowed this to proceed if we had known in advance.’
Blue sharks are listed as nearthreatened globally but there are no limits on catches in UK waters.