Brazilian authorities announced on Tuesday the seizure of more than 28 tons of shark fins bound for Asia, where they are highly prized, in what will be the largest operation of its kind in the world, according to the environmental agency Ibama.
The 28.7 tons of fins represent about 10,000 blue sharks (‘Prionace glauca’) and shortfin makos (‘Isurus oxyrinchus’), said the Ibama – Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, in a statement, adding that they were caught ” in several regions of the Brazilian coast”.
“This is probably the largest capture of this type of product in history,” said Jair Schmitt, one of the agency’s directors, quoted in the note.
Almost all the fins were seized at a company in the state of Santa Catarina, in the south of the country, while the rest, which another company was preparing to export, were intercepted at the São Paulo airport, in the southeast of the country. Other companies may be involved in the traffic, according to Ibama.
The fins would be illegally exported to Asia, where the trade, centered in Hong Kong, moves about 465 million euros. The fins can sell for $1,000 a pound in East Asia, where they are used to make soups that are popular in traditional Chinese cuisine.
In late May, Brazil added the mako shark to its endangered species list. This initiative continues the historic decision taken in November, in Panama, at the Conference on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which aims to protect around 50 shark species threatened by trade in their fins in Asia.
Source: TSF
