Seized shark fins dumped in Pacific ceremony  Illustration: Confiscated shark fins were symbolically disposed of at sea in a ceremony witnessed by regional leaders. The The gesture underscored the progress made towards protecting the marine predators since the Villagomez said some commercial tuna fishermen still illegally cut the fins from sharks, even though they earned very little from the practice. "Fishermen only receive a few dollars (per fin)," he said. "But once they are processed in The fins that were dumped off the capital Majuro were confiscated from a Chinese longline fishing vessel earlier this year that was fined $125,000. The Pew group estimates more than 70 million sharks are killed annually for their fins, leaving up to a third of open-water species on the brink of extinction. Villagomez said the fins disposed of on Tuesday included ones from oceanic whitetip sharks, which are "protected in every tuna fishery and is the most vulnerable species of shark". In the north Pacific, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Guam, Northern Marianas and three of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia ban shark finning. "The Pacific is leading the world in shark protection," Villagomez said. The PIF officially opens on Tuesday evening with a lavish ceremony on the shores of Majuro's lagoon. Source: AFP |
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