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Campaign launched to protect sharks
The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have launched a campaign to preserve shark populations in Indonesian waters, which have been in constant decline
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he Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have launched a campaign to preserve shark populations in Indonesian waters, which have been in constant decline.
The 'Save Our Shark' campaign is aimed at protecting and restoring shark populations that have been heavily depleted by excessive exploitation to meet both local consumption and export markets, in particular China and Hongkong. Sharks are the biggest predators in the sea and their extinction would lead to an unbalanced marine ecosystem.
The ministry's director general for maritime affairs, coastal areas and small islands, Sudirman Saad, said statistics showed that the slaughtering of sharks in Indonesia was on the rise.
'This could be dangerous. The shark is the top predator in the sea. If its numbers decrease or even goes extinct, certain other marine life forms will multiply, potentially disturbing the overall balance of the sea's ecosystem,' Sudirman said.
He spoke after the opening ceremony of the Coral Triangle Day celebration in Loang Baloq beach, Ampenan, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Sunday.
Sudirman said most shark food products, in particular fins, were for export primarily to China and Hongkong, and not used for local consumption.
'If hunted for its fin and meat, a shark is worth only around Rp 1.3 million (US$132.6) to Rp 1.5 million per kilogram. But if conserved for marine tourism, a shark can bring economic benefits worth Rp 300 million per year or around Rp 18 billion throughout its life,' said Sudirman.
WWF Indonesia program director for maritime affairs and fisheries, Wawan Ridwan, said the agency had coordinated with WWF China to push that country's government to issue a shark conservation policy.
'The result has been quite good as the Chinese government has issued a policy to reduce the level of shark consumption in the country, which will hopefully lead to a discontinuation of shark consumption by 2015,' he said. (ebf)
