By RACHNA LAL
Additional Information: ABC
One of our biggest fishing companies, Fiji Fish Marketing, has rejected claims by conservationists that Fiji is becoming a hub for shark finning in the Pacific region.
This is after over the past week, Air Pacific has been under scrutiny by international organisations and media, over allegedly transporting shark fins as cargo.
Fiji Fish Marketing chief executive, Russell Dunham, told ABC Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat programme that the majority of seafood in Fiji isn’t shark at all.
“A lot of the air freighted volume, is actually tuna, tuna loins or Yellow Fin loins for market,” he said.
“I do not believe the amount of volume of in terms of tonnage is attributed to shark fin or shark products.
“I believe the increase of volume of Air Pacific’s air freight between Nadi and Hong Kong, is the tuna fish, not shark.”
It all started with the Hong Kong Shark Association expressing concerns that Air Pacific has been flying a substantial quantity of shark fin into Hong Kong.
However, Air Pacific has labelled this as ‘grossly exaggerated and misleading’ but acknowledged the concerns and is looking into the concerns.
National plan for conservation
Mr Dunham said he understood well that shark finning is a reasonably hot issue at the moment.
“This is precisely why Fiji was one of the first Pacific nations to embark on a sort of a national plan of actions for sharks,” he said.
“This is a management plan to make sure there are sustainable levels of interaction with sharks and I think Fiji is to be applauded for its efforts in this regard.”
Mitigation measures
Mr Dunham indicated while work is not being carried out for a sale and possession ban on shark fin, there were moves to avoid shark finning.
“What we’re trying to do is look at the management of sharks and minimise interaction with sharks and look at mitigation measures when we’re fishing,” he said.
“Like the damming of steel traces on any fishing gear, for example, is one and there’s several other management issues you can put in place to make sure you minimise interaction with sharks.”
Bodies attached to fins
Mr Dunham said while fishing, it is illegal in Fiji to bring just shark fins.
“You have to have bodies attached, to actually get it to be able to ship out, it’s got to be attached to bodies and that’s exactly what’s happening now,” he said.
“Now whether they’re physically attached or they have been removed and attached by or tied up together, but you’ve got to have, for every pair of fins, a body with it.
“Bear in mind, the majority of the fishermen that are fishing here are targeting tuna. No one is specifically targeting sharks.
“To my knowledge in the Pacific now, there is no country that licensed shark boats per say or shark licence. So you’re licensed to fish for tuna.
Demand decreases
Mr Dunham revealed that the demand for shark fin has decreased quite a lot over the last 18 months particularly.
“As such, prices have dropped as well, from what I understand from the product. So there is less and less demand for shark fin product,” he said.