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19 Oct 2011: Trawlers Kill 2,000 Sharks
For Fins in Colombian Marine Sanctuary

As many as 2,000 sharks have been slaughtered for their fins in the protected waters of Colombia’s Malpelo wildlife sanctuary, government officials say. A team of researchers studying sharks in the region

As Shark Slaughter Continues,
A Defender Targets Fin Trade

In an interview with Yale e360, shark conservationist Sonja Fordham talks about the battle to save one of the world’s most magnificent fish.
READ THE e360 REPORT

reportedly witnessed a fleet of about 10 fishing trawlers in the waters around Malpelo, a rock island about 500 kilometers from the mainland. “When the divers dove, they started finding a large number of animals without their fins,” said Sandra Bessudo, environmental advisor to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. “They didn’t see any alive.” A Colombian navy ship later reported seizing an Ecuadorian fishing boat containing an illegal catch, including sharks and other species. The remote 8,570-square-kilometer sanctuary — which is home to hammerhead, Galápagos, and whale sharks — attracts illegal fishing boats that trap the sharks and strip their fins, before dropping them back into the water. In Hong Kong, where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy, a reported 22 million pounds of shark fins are traded annually and single bowl of soup can fetch £63.

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