Shark-catching report slammed

Data does not accurately reflect amount of catch, says dept

PETALING JAYA: The Fisheries Department has rejected a recent report by conservation group Traffic which ranked Malaysia eighth in the list of top 20 countries that are shark catchers.

The report titled “An Overview of Major Shark Traders, Catchers and Species”, authored by Nicola Okes and Glenn Sant and published by Traffic this month, found that Malaysia’s average catch between 2007 and 2017 was 21,459 metric tonnes annually.

But the Fisheries Department said the report was inaccurate as the amount of catch was mixed together with the landing of stingrays.

“The average landing of sharks between 2007 and 2017 was 7,027 metric tonnes only or 0.4% of the amount of marine fish landings in Malaysia,” the department said in a statement to The Star.

The Traffic report placed Malaysia on the list of top 20 catchers from 2007-2017, joining the ranks of countries like Indonesia, Spain and India, which occupied the top three spots.

According to the report, the term “catcher” referred to a country, territory or other political entity reporting catch data to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

The Fisheries Department said a slew of shark management efforts had been ongoing in Malaysia to ensure the conservation of the apex predators, including banning the serving of shark fin soup at all official government events since 2014.

On July 17 this year, four more shark species were added to the list of protection under the Fisheries Act (Control of Endangered Species of Fish) Regulations 1999, which previously only protected the Rhincodon typus (whale shark).

The four newly protected shark species are the Carcharhinus longimanus (oceanic whitetip shark), Sphyrna mokarran (great hammerhead shark), Sphyrna zygaena (smooth hammerhead shark) and

Eusphyra blochii (winghead shark). The Fisheries Department had also implemented additional conditions for licences and fishing equipment, which bans cutting or possessing shark fin on fishing vessels.

Some 68 shark species are found in local waters. They are not targeted in fishing activities but are rather by-catch or marine species that is caught unintentionally while catching certain target or commercial fish species using dragnets, driftnets and also fishing rod, said the Department.

“We have also drafted the Shark Management and Conservation Plan to ensure the continuity of shark management in Malaysia.

“In Sabah, six marine protection areas were also recognised as shark sanctuaries in a bid to conserve sharks,” the department added.

Other efforts include developing the “Non-Detriment Findings” of shark species for the target species of Sphyrna lewini (scalloped hammerhead shark) and also enforcing “zero quota”, referring to export prohibition for the species of sharks listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

“As a step to monitor and control the exploitation of sharks, a Sharks and Rays Identification Course is also organised annually involving enforcement agencies,” said the Fisheries Department.

According to the Traffic report, the total average catch per year for the top 20 catchers from 2007 to 2017 was about 594,183 metric tonnes per year, which represented some 80% of the global reported catch averaged over that period.

“Nearly 80% of recent catches were reported from the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas (40%, with the largest from the Eastern Central, Southwest, Northeast and Northwest), the Pacific Ocean (33%, predominantly from the Western Central) and the Indian Ocean (27%),” said the report.

Malaysia and Indonesia were the only Asean nations in the top 20 list, which ranked Indonesia first and Ecuador last.