VIRAL photos of sharks with their fins chopped off at the Sandakan jetty today have angered civil society group the Sabah Shark Protection Association, which said the pictures proved that sharks were more than just bycatch, as alleged by fishermen.

Its president, Aderick Chung, said this was not the only instance of sharks captured for mass consumption.

“We have raised the issue numerous times as we were aware that sharks were not just bycatch, as the fishermen claim. 

“A ban on shark finning and fishing should be introduced,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The viral photos showed bucket loads of sharks with their fins chopped piled up at Sandakan jetty, some 300km from Kota Kinabalu. 

The photos were taken by tourist guide Joe Rashid about noon today.

This comes just as Sabah is looking into implementing a total ban on shark fishing and finning in all six marine parks by year end.

The marine parks are Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Tun Sakaran Marine Park, Tun Mustapha Park, Pulau Tiga Park, Turtle Islands Park and Sipadan Island Park.

On September 19, state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun said amendments to the Sabah Parks enactment would be tabled at the State Assembly sitting in November. 

Chung said although the ban at marine parks would be a great start, the state would still not have total control over shark fishing. 

Sabah Fisheries Department director Dr Ahemad Sade said the department needed to confirm whether the sharks were listed as endangered species.

Currently, the Sabah Fisheries Department lists whale sharks and sawfish (ray species) as protected and threatened under the Fisheries (Control of Endangered Species of Fish) Regulations 1999 and Fisheries Act 1985.

The department has proposed four other shark and two ray species, listed under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species 2008, to be categorised as threatened under the Fisheries Act.
The sharks are Sphyrna mokarran (great hammerhead shark), Sphyrna zygaena (smooth hammerhead shark), Eusphyra blochii (winghead shark) and Carcharhinus longimanus (oceanic whitetip shark). The rays are Manta birostris (oceanic manta) and Manta alfredi (reef manta).

Popular seafood restaurants and hotels in Kota Kinabalu no longer serve shark’s fin, but can still be found on the menu in Sandakan and Tawau. 

Claims had also surfaced of tourists paying extra to fix dinner functions just for a taste of shark’s fin soup and other exotic animals at private homes. – September 27, 2017.