According to a new investigation by TRAFFIC (Trade Records Analysis of Flora and Fauna in Commerce) and WWF India, about 16,000 kg of shark fins were seized in India, between January 2010 and December 2022, with Tamil Nadu having the highest number of such cases.
Tamil Nadu accounted for nearly 65% of shark seizure incidents, followed by Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, and Maharashtra. The confiscated products are shipped to Singapore, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Sri Lanka, and mainland China. According to the data sheet, these made up over 80% of the most often confiscated shark goods, and they included sizable amounts of shark teeth and cartilage.
Shark meat and fins are in high demand worldwide. The most sought-after goods are shark fins, which are mostly used to make “shark fin soup.” Shark cartilage is used to extract chondroitin sulphate for pharmaceuticals, shark skin is used to produce leather, shark oil is used as lubricant, in cosmetics, and as a source of vitamin A, and shark jaws and teeth are used to make ornaments.
Plankton, fish, crustaceans, and marine mammals are among the aquatic animals that sharks prey on, making them the top predators in the oceanic food chain. Compared to most other vertebrates, they are at a higher risk of extinction due to overfishing and low reproductive production.
Only 26 species of sharks and rays have the highest protection status in Schedules I and II of the revised Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, out of the 160 shark species that have been reported in India. Schedule IV of the Act contains a list of the species included in Appendices I and II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
