A growing global demand for shark fins and a general deficit in fishing regulations are key drivers in the decline of shark populations. More than three million sharks in the Coral Triangle alone are said to fall victim to fin harvesting each year.
New research from Australia's Murdoch University examined the catch, trade and management of sharks in Indonesian island communities, the leading country in the international shark fin trade.
Home to the largest shark fin industry, and the world's most diverse coral reefs, the Coral Triangle lies within a region of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. With a reported annual catch of 100,000 tons, Indonesia's shark fishery contributes more to the international shark fin trade than any other nation.
Despite staggering population declines, sharks are continually harvested for their fins due to the high price tag that makes shark fishing one of the most lucrative livelihoods in these remote coastal areas.
However, overexploitation of sharks causes cascading effects throughout local biological ecosystems. Therefore, researchers warn better fisheries management and established No-Take Zones (NTZs) are need to ensure effective shark conservation in Indonesia. NTZs ban both commercial and artisanal fishing of all sharks and reef fish.
Led by Vanessa Jaiteh, researchers traveled to the Raja Ampat regency of far Eastern Indonesia, where sharks have a high monetary value as a tourism attraction.
Compared to areas of open fishing, researchers found shark populations were up to 28 times higher within two NTZs of a marine protected area in a recently established shark sanctuary of Raja Ampat. This suggests NTZs act as a safe haven for remaining sharks and their offspring by providing more food and refuge.
But researchers were also interested in what the establishment of the Raja Ampat shark sanctuary meant for local fisheries. Of those interviewed, 88 percent of Eastern Indonesia's fishers knew sharks were now off limits, but were not convinced of the need for the sanctuary.
As an exceptionally profitable industry, many of the fisheries felt their livelihoods were not considered by conservation agencies when making the decision to close large stretches of shark hunting grounds.
However, researchers also found many shark fishers adapted to the closures by moving to other fishing grounds, targeting populations in unprotected regions, or by finding other means of supporting their livelihoods, including illegal petrol transport.
"The fishers we interviewed were aware that sharks are important for marine ecosystems and tourism, but also expressed their dilemma in pursuing more sustainable livelihoods within the limitations of geographic remoteness, poverty and debt with boat owners and traders," Jaiteh explained. "Some of their self-initiated alternatives involve high personal or environmental risk and are hardly more sustainable than shark finning, which undermines the broader benefits of locally successful conservation strategies."
Researchers urge that their findings highlight the need for both NTZs and alternative means for fisherman to sustain their livelihoods.
Their study was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.
