This graph from "The Future of Sharks - A Review of Action and Inaction," a report released, as featured in the TT today, by the wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC and the Pew Environment Group and scheduled to be reviewed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Committee on Fisheries next week.
NOTES FROM THE REPORT
The Top 20 for the period 2000 to 2008 are listed in Table 1 (See also Figure 1). The Top 20 is an arbitrary construct and in considering this report, it is important to bear in mind that:
Although the Top 20 account for nearly 80% of total reported shark catch, the top four shark catchers (Indonesia, India, Spain and Taiwan) account for more than 35%.
Five of the Top 20 (Portugal, Nigeria, Iran, the United Kingdom and South Korea) each account for less than 2% of the global reported shark catch.
The 20th-ranked catcher accounts for 1.4% of global reported shark catch, and six that are not in the Top 20 account for 1% or more of the catch:
Canada (1.39%),
Peru (1.21%),
Yemen (1.17%),
Australia (1.15%),
Senegal (1.06%)
Venezuela (1.00%).
BEN'S NOTES
The figures used for the report do not seem to include China or North Korea, both of which are likely to also engage in shark fishing. Furthermore, the figures are estimates based on what countries self-report - those self-reported figures are likely lower than actual numbers fished. What this report does well is illustrate the extent of the problem - a problem that is likely already affecting biological food chains in all our oceans. Anyone got good ideas of how to demotivate people from engaging in shark fishing or eating shark-fin soup?
Further information:
My post on shark-finning
My post on finning in Taiwan
Greenpeace East Asian Tour
Greenpeace and their action in Kaohsiung
