Gang of wildlife smugglers busted

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a gang of wildlife smugglers by seizing 8,000 kilograms of shark fins meant for illicit export after wrongly declaring them as dried ray skins, dried marine products and fish maw.

Acting on a tip-off that a few exporters were indulging in export of the prohibited shark fins of various species of sharks, the DRI on Saturday detained four alleged smugglers, including the mastermind, and seized 3000 kilograms of shark fins from a warehouse at Sewri in south-central Mumbai and 5000 kilograms from a warehouse at Veraval in Gujarat.

The investigations by the DRI’s Mumbai have revealed that the entire quantity of the seized shark fins was to be exported to China and Hong Kong.

“Wildlife Inspectors have confirmed the seized goods to be shark fins. Our investigations have established that the stocks of shark fins are replenished regularly,” a DRI spokesperson said here on Monday.

The Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), an organisation attached to the office of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, had vide a notification issued on February 6, 2015 prohibited export of shark fins of all species. On account of this prohibition, the exports of shark fins were mis-declared as dried ray skins, dried marine products, fish maw, etc. to avoid detection and circumvent prohibition.

Shark fins are used for preparing a delicacy called the ‘Shark fin soup’. It is a traditional soup or stewed dish found in Chinese cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine. The shark fins provide texture, while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients.

It is commonly served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets, and is considered as a luxury item in Chinese culture. One bowl of Shark fin soup costs 100 US dollars upwards.

Shark finning is an act of removing fins from sharks, often while the shark is alive. Fishermen choose to keep just the shark fins—only one to five percent of a shark’s weight—and throw the rest of the shark away rather than have the less valuable parts take up space on the boat.

These sharks without their fins are still alive when they are discarded back into the ocean, without the fins they are unable to swim; due to which, they sink to the bottom of the sea / ocean and they often, die of suffocation or are eaten by other predators.

The carcass often gets washed up the shores. When shark population decreases, a ripple effect can spread throughout the rest of the ocean ecosystem.

In August 2013, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) had approved of a Policy on ‘Shark fining’ that prohibited the removal of ‘Shark fins’ on board of a vessel in the sea.

Among other things, the Policy prescribes that, any possession of shark fins that are not naturally attached to the body of the shark, would amount to “hunting” of a Schedule I species.

In September 2014, India became signatory of Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and listed fivemore shark species for conservation.