Meet the scientist
Lecturer in biological science, University of Exeter
Biologist Andrew Griffiths sheds light on the unwitting consumption of endangered shark species
By investigating sharks served up on our plates, biologist Andrew Griffiths has been highlighting the trade in endangered species and the need for better labelling of fish products sold in the UK.
The work of Andrew Griffiths and research student Cathy Hobbs hit the headlines in late January 2019 when they revealed that meat from endangered sharks was on British menus.
“People don’t appreciate that we have over 20 shark species in UK waters,” says Griffiths. “It’s why I wanted to focus my research on sharks being traded in England.”
He and his colleagues identified 117 shark meat products and 33 shark fins from wholesalers, fishmongers and fish and chip shops from February 2016 to November 2017 using DNA barcoding. A molecular approach is required when studying animals processed for human consumption because they lose their diagnostic features. “It works in a similar way to using barcodes in supermarkets to identify products,” he says. “A database called the Barcode of Life enabled us to accurately record each species.”
Results showed that the public may not be fully aware of what they’re buying: what appears to be a sustainably sourced product could be a threatened species. One of two vulnerable sharks found was the scalloped hammerhead, an Endangered, CITES listed elasmobranch that cannot be imported without a proper licence.
“This discovery from a UK wholesaler was really surprising
because it links us to the damaging global trade in shark fins, which we are not immune to in Europe,” says Griffiths. “We got the impression that the wholesaler didn’t know what they were selling and was unwittingly passing it on.”
The majority of samples were identified as spiny dogfish, Endangered in Europe and globally threatened. Landing it is generally not permitted under EU rules so those on sale are likely to have been sourced from sustainable stocks elsewhere.
“This shark has undergone huge fisheries pressures over the last century and with a gestation period of two years, its populations are slow to recover,” he explains. The species was the main shark being sold at chip shops under several generic names, including rock, huss, rock salmon or rock eel. “Consumers can’t be sure of what they are buying because these names apply to dozens of shark species,” Griffiths states. “The UK’s fish names accepted at the point of sale for sharks and other marine species such as rays and skates need to be more specific.”
From 2000 to 2011 the volume of global imports of meat from cartilaginous fishes rose by 42 per cent, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. “As the world population grows, we could be consuming sharks more widely,” Griffiths warns. “From working with colleagues in Europe, I know we’re not the only country with a useless labelling system.” Jo Price
FIND OUT MORE Scientific Reports: nature.com/articles/ s41598-018-38270-3
This discovery links us to the damaging global trade in shark fins.