The government should ban shark-finning to not only conserve sharks but also avoid creating a negative image of the country to the rest of the world, local and foreign conservationists said yesterday.
At a press conference yesterday in Taipei, a six-minute videotape about what shark-finning entails was shown to the public. In the documentary, the remainder of an injured shark, whose fins had been removed on board, was discarded at sea.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Conservationists from Life Conservation Association and WildAid, an international conservation group, said these ghastly images are just part of the extreme brutality sharks are subjected to.
The videotape has been played in the UK, the US and Singapore. It will be played in more countries where WildAid campaigns against shark-finning.
According to conservationists, while the Taiwanese public tries to play its part in shark conservation, Taiwan remains the largest fin-trader in the world.
"Before the government takes any action, consumers should refuse shark-fin soup," Buddhist Master Shih Chao-hui (釋昭慧) of Life Conservation Association said.
Shih said that people should consider the inhumanity behind the consumption of shark-fin soup.
Every year millions of sharks are killed to meet the ever growing demand for shark-fin soup.
Conservationists from WildAid said Taiwanese shark-fishing companies take advantage of the poverty of developing countries, which often cannot afford to enforce their own laws against shark-finning.
In a recently completed report entitled "Shark Finning: Unrecorded Wastage on a Global Scale," Taiwanese ships are blamed for depleting the resources of other countries in their race to meet demand for shark fins.
The report highlighted two recent cases in Costa Rica. One case was exposed in July, when a video was shot showing about 30 bags of shark fins found at a private dock where Taiwanese fishing vessels often land their hauls of shark fins.
It later transpired that the official cargo declaration from the Taiwanese vessel, Ho Tsai Fa No. 18, was for 60,000kg of shark fins.
The other case involved the seizure of 30 tonnes of fins belonging to the Goidau Roey No.1, which was flying a Panamanian flag, on May 31.
"We urge the Council of Agriculture to enact legislation to prevent Taiwanese fishing companies overseas from finning sharks, even if this means putting a governmental observer on every vessel," said Susie Watts, a WildAid consultant who wrote the report.
Wu Hsinn-charng (
"The available evidence accusing Ho Tsai Fa No. 18 is relatively weak because the fin and the remainder are often managed separately," Wu said.
Wu said the second case was irrelevant to Taiwan because the vessel was registered overseas.
Wu said Costa Rica did not officially ban shark finning until last month.
There are more than 380 species of sharks. Wu said Taiwanese fishermen catch certain species, such as silky sharks and blue sharks, to ensure resources are sustainable.
Endangered species, which grow slowly and have late sexual maturity, have been protected by Taiwan since July last year, when a limit of 80 was set on the number of whale sharks that could be caught every year.
According to the council, 800,000 tonnes of sharks are fished annually in the world. Taiwan ranks fifth in shark fishing, with its 7 percent share worth more than NT$1 billion.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from