A victim becomes defender of sharks
Achmat Hassiem of South Africa, who lost leg in attack, wants to save at-risk species
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A decade ago, Achmat Hassiem and his younger brother were playing the part of drowning swimmers in a routine lifesavers’ drill when they spotted a huge dorsal fin speeding toward them in the chilly waters of False Bay, a major habitat of the great white shark.
The 16-foot shark was headed for his brother, so Hassiem drummed the ocean surface to distract it. It worked too well. The shark instead attacked Hassiem, locking on to his leg.
“I woke up in the hospital and found half of my leg was gone,” Hassiem recalled.
The strapping South African lost the limb but went on to become a Paralympian — and, more improbable, one of the world’s most prominent defender of sharks. Today, he travels the world making the case for shark conservation.
“I have learned so much about sharks and how dwindling their populations are,” he said. “A shark brought me to where I am now, so I need to do everything in my power to give back to sharks. Not only do I find myself lucky to be alive, but also I get the chance to speak for those who cannot speak and speak on behalf of sharks all around the world, so that they have a future too.”
Hassiem is now part of a growing group of environmentalists and governments advocating for protection for some of the world’s most-feared creatures.
Last year, thanks partly to Hassiem’s advocacy, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, voted to protect several species of sharks and mobula rays. The decision, approved by two-thirds of the 182 countries at the meeting, placed the species on Appendix II, meaning countries must ensure that fishing doesn’t threaten their survival.
“We did it!” Hassiem tweeted after the vote came down.
With shark populations plummeting and 100 million sharks killed annually, shark advocates, including the governments of Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Fiji, succeeded in placing limits on trade of three of the most critically endangered species of sharks and rays, including thresher sharks and silky sharks, which have been relentlessly fished for their fins for shark fin soup, a delicacy in Chinese cuisine, particularly for banquets.
Until a few years ago, there were no bans on fishing of any shark species. There are 1,041 shark and ray species worldwide, a quarter of them threatened with extinction, only five of which have been protected since 2014, including hammerhead, porbeagle and oceanic whitetip sharks.
The sharks’ defenders include Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Sri Lanka’s environment minister; Mark Bond, a Florida International University shark behavioral expert; and officials in the government of the Maldives, which has banned shark fishing off its shores.
After last year’s CITES vote, countries have until September to stop fishing the protected sharks or produce scientific evidence that fishing wouldn’t threaten the species’ survival.
In the future, a permit will be required to fish the protected species. Luke Warwick, shark conservation director of the Pew Charitable Trusts, which conducts research on sustainable fisheries, is meeting with government officials and customs and wildlife officers worldwide to explain their obligations under the new law. He also is training them to identify which fins are fished illegally.
“These are some of the most endangered species out there. They’re incredibly vulnerable,” Warwick said.
The United States is one of the largest fisheries for now-protected thresher sharks, which are exported to Hong Kong, the main shark fin hub. But Warwick said the U.S. record on shark conservation has improved in recent years.
“The U.S. is a major shark fin exporter and a major player in the shark fin trade. With these listed species, the U.S. will have to look very carefully to make sure they’re being fished sustainably,” he said.
For Hassiem, 34, a medalwinning Paralympian swimmer, it’s all about a desire to “give back” to the sharks. As terrifying as the attack was, he says good things came out of it. After the attack, he has represented South Africa at three Paralympic Games.
People often fear sharks, but according to the University of Florida, the chances of being killed in a lightning strike are 75 times higher than the chances of being killed by a shark. People were 132 times more likely to drown at the beach. Six people were killed last year in shark attacks worldwide.
Thresher shark populations have declined by more than 80% in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the last 15 years, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. Silky shark populations fell by up to 80% in the Pacific Ocean from 1994 to 2004, and by as much as 90% in the Pacific Ocean in the last 20 years.
“They’re under incredible threat from myriad sources and they’re particularly vulnerable to over-exploitation,” shark behavioral expert Bond said.
Bigeye thresher sharks take 13 years to mature and have low reproduction rates, typically producing two pups after a 12-month pregnancy. Silky sharks have similar rates.
Warwick said that if CITES hadn’t taken steps to require sustainable fishing of sharks, the organization would have soon faced the necessity of banning all trade.
“Sustainable trade underpinned by sustainable fisheries for these species is possible,” Warwick said. “By creating a framework to sustainably trade these species now, governments are effectively working to prevent the need for Appendix I listings, or trade bans, in the future.”
The major threat to shark species is the fin trade, and fishing vessels in some regions de-fin sharks live and throw the rest of the shark overboard, where it sinks and dies. The practice is banned in the U.S. and many other countries. Environmental advocates say that finning is still common in unregulated international waters in some regions.
Some hotels, resorts and shipping companies have banned shark fin soup and, in 2013 the Chinese government banned shark fin soup from official banquets as part of a crackdown on extravagance.