THE number of sharks of various species landed at the Kota Kinabalu Sabah Fish Marketing (Safma) jetty proves these creatures are more than just bycatches, the Fisheries Department insists.

They are deliberately caught and sold for profit.

As early as 3am, the sharks land in baskets on the jetty, where workers commence to strip the sharks of their fins.

The fins and the bodies are separated into two baskets.

A few hours later, The Malaysian Insight spotted two lorries entering the jetty area, one loaded with the fins and the other with the rest of the unused shark body parts.

When approached, the workers said the fins would be dried in a nearby shop complex and then packed to be sold.

“They are not sold openly due to the ban. They are only sold if anyone comes forward and asks.

“The customers are usually Chinese nationals looking for such delicacies here,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

There are 50 shark and 66 stingray species in Sabah’s waters.

According to the Fisheries Department, sharks and stingrays are usually unintentionally caught by trawlers, accounting for up to 70% of the catch. Other fishing methods that are fatal to the two creatures are gill nets, longline, and handline fishing.

In 2017, 697 metric tonnes of shark (0.43%) and 1,507 metric tonnes of stingray (0.93%) catches were recorded by the department.

Sabah is in the midst of drafting a new fisheries management law, focusing on the protection of sharks, stingrays, and other endangered marine life.

At present, the state does not have a specific law to protect the creatures, whose numbers are in decline.

The only laws that regulate the industry are the federal National Fisheries (Control of Endangered Species of Fish) Regulations 1999 and Fisheries Act 1985, which are presently being amended.

The department is also in the midst of including the great hammerhead shark, smooth hammerhead shark, wing head shark, reef manta, giant oceanic manta, and oceanic white tip shark in its list of protected species. – February 11, 2019.