Global News - December 2007
< Back to Global News
Seychelles vows to protect shark population
Thu 13 December 2007 13:45 UK — Asia,Marine Wildlife
Officials on the Seychelles have vowed to crack down on illegal shark finning following the seizure of a Taiwanese fishing boat loaded with fins.
The discovery of the illegal horde was made last week by a French navy ship patrolling the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, Reuters reported.
A total of 650 kilograms of fins were found in the vessel, which would have come from roughly 13 tonnes of shark, Didier Dogley, Permanent Secretary at the Seychelles' Environment Ministry, told the website.
"We are going to crack down on illegal shark finning," he claimed. "We have already started with the patrolling."
Some shark fishermen cut off the animals' fins before throwing them back into the water, he added, resulting in the sharks not being able to swim and therefore drowning.
The shark fishing industry is driven by demand for shark fin soup in Asian countries, and China in particular, with National Geographic reporting that experts estimate 38 million sharks are killed annually for their fins, while 39 species of shark are listed as endangered.
Help IAR rescue and rehabilitate endangered wildlife.
News brought to you by International Animal Rescue, leaders in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.
< Back to Global News |
Read IAR News
Read IAR News >
|
June 2008
Update on IAR’s work in Indonesia
As well as macaques and slow lorises, our team in Indonesia has ended the suffering of a number of endangered Javan gibbons living in misery in a centre known as Cikananga. June 2008
IAR speaks out against the Great British Circus scandal
International Animal Rescue is urging people to stay away from the Great British Circus during its visit to Tonbridge because it uses a variety of animals in its acts, including lions, tigers, camels and zebras. |
