No let up in seeking shark ban
Published on: Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is firm in seeking a total ban on shark fishing and finning in its waters. This includes putting pressure on the Federal Government to act in the public interest and to establish laws that support the ban on shark fishing nationwide. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said citizens should express their support for the ban. "We will work with organisations in Malaysia that believe in sustainable practices to press those in power to come to their senses."
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The state government had proposed to ban shark hunting and finning, as well as to stop serving shark fin soup at official events through amendments to the Fisheries Act in 2012. The calls for a ban, however, fell on deaf ears. Last year, Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said there was no need to ban shark fishing as, unlike tuna fishing, there was no shark hunting industry in the country and sharks were accidentally caught by fishermen. Early this year, tourists were shocked to see dead sharks being landed and cut on Pulau Mabul off Semporna. Mabul is popular among scuba divers due to its proximity to Sipadan island – home to more than 3,000 species of fish, including pelagic species, such as hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and manta rays.
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In a conference on marine science and aquaculture last month, Masidi said the diving industry generated RM322 million for Sabah last year and called on academicians, re-searchers and conservationists to support Sabah's call for the anti-shark hunting law. He had said more than 55,000 divers came to Sabah to see sharks in the wild and if shark hunting was not controlled, it would affect the tourism industry.
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"We are doing it to ensure sustainability in the State's tourism industry. More importantly, we are doing it because we want the future generations of Malaysians in Sabah to enjoy the same economic opportunity in tourism that the current generation is enjoying. "We want to leave a legacy of managing our God-given resources with responsibility devoid of greed and destructive practices," said the minister. Sabah was determined to carry out efforts to introduce a shark sanctuary, he said. Sharks are not hunted exclusively for their fins but rather as an "extra" catch of the day among fishermen, said Fisheries Department Director-General Datuk Ismail Abu Hassan.He said Malaysian fishermen did not aim to catch sharks. Instead, sharks were usually caught in nets by chance. "We are concerned about the types of sharks that are caught, includding baby sharks," he said."Sharks are not a targeted species in fishing but are often caught with commercial fish species by using trawl nets, drift nets, fishing rod and gill-netting." On Malaysia being the third biggest consumer of shark fins, Ismail said the whole fish was consumed, not only its fin.As such, he said, there was no wastage or issues concerning this matter.He said what concerned the department were those who catch sharks for their fins.Malaysia has among the most diverse shark species in Southeast Asia after Indonesia with 63 recorded species.The Agricultrure and Agro-based Industry Ministry had conducted a campaign to ban shark fin soup at official goverment events as part of the shark conservation campaign following a decision by the Cabinet on May 21, 2014.Malaysians consumed an annual average of 1,384 metric tonnes (mt) of shark fin and imported 1,173mt from 2000 to 2011.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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