India’s sharks and rays: an ancient species on the brink of extinction

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

A report by TRAFFIC and WWF-India have highlighted rampant shark killing and trade in eastern India, especially West Bengal, despite regional underrepresentation in seizure data.

Details:

The TRAFFIC-WWF report, titled “Netted in illegal wildlife trade: Sharks of India,” indicates nearly 16,000 kg of shark fins were seized from January 2010 to December 2022, alongside significant quantities of shark cartilage and teeth, with the illegal trade being much larger than seizures suggest.
Northern West Bengal and adjacent Northeast India areas serve as major trafficking routes for shark body parts and other wildlife products.
The investigation also revealed that Digha, a coastal resort town, is a hotbed for shark killing and trafficking, with monthly averages of 1,500 to 6,000 kg of sharks being trafficked, mainly to Kerala for their fins.
Tamil Nadu leads in seizure incidents, with an estimated actual trade volume 6 to 8 times higher.
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and West Bengal’s forest department, while less aware, recognize the role of West Bengal and northeastern states in trafficking to international markets, notably China.
Despite India’s ban on shark finning and trade, enforcement appears lax, with significant seizures and international demand driving the illegal trade.
Shark products are used in cuisine, cosmetics, medicine, and as curios, emphasizing the need for stronger regulatory measures and conservation efforts to protect sharks and their ecosystem roles.

India second largest shark fishing nation in the world:

India ranks as the second largest shark fishing nation globally, following Indonesia, primarily due to bycatch in fisheries targeting other species and habitat disruptions from coastal development.
Between 1985 and 2013,India’s annual shark catch remained between 50,000 and 70,000 tonnes, despite a 64% decline in the proportion of sharks to total fishery catch.
This indicates a significant decrease in shark populations relative to other fish, especially on the west coast, which accounts for nearly 70% of India’s shark fishery.
Notably, the collapse of fisheries can occur abruptly, as seen with the deep sea shark fishery around the Maldives, which vanished in the early 2000s after being depleted.
India then became a supplier of liver oil from deep sea sharks like gulper sharks until this fishery too collapsed in 2009 due to diminishing catches and smaller shark sizes.
Similarly, Tamil Nadu has witnessed an 86% decline in catches of rays such as guitar fish and wedge fishes.
These rapid population declines are attributed to the slow growth, late sexual maturity, and infrequent reproduction of these species, leading to long recovery times or non-recovery even after fishing ceases.

Protection of sharks:

The first shark species (and consequently the first fish species) to ever be protected in India was the whale shark which was placed under the Schedule 1 species list of the Wildlife (Protection) Act in 2001.
Nine more species were added to this list, including the Ganges river shark (one of few freshwater and estuarine sharks in the world), the Pondicherry shark which may already be extinct and the giant guitarfish, an exceedingly rare species that is sought after for shark fin soup in Southeast Asia and China.