Caught up in shark conservation
Dr Amy Deacon
Although primarily in Trinidad to catch freshwater fish, recently I have found myself caught up in a national shark conservation campaign. There are two main issues facing Trinidad and Tobago when it comes to sharks: the first is the overfishing of sharks locally, and the second is the country’s involvement in the international shark fin trade.
‘Bake and shark’ is a national dish enjoyed by residents and proudly offered to tourists. It consists of a special fried bread roll with fried, seasoned shark and is characterised by the huge variety of salad components and condiments that are traditionally added in generous quantities – including pineapple, a coriander-like seasoning known as ‘chadon beni’, and every sauce you can possibly imagine. However, sharks have been severely depleted in T&T waters in recent years, to the point where most of those in the fish markets appear to be severely undersized. In fact, many bake and shark vendors are now forced to import their shark to keep up with demand.
The second issue has only recently come to light, thanks to investigations from local NGO Papa Bois Conservation. Incredibly, T&T is ranked #6 in the world when it comes to exporting shark fins to Hong Kong (the largest importer of fins). At first this seemed impossible, given what we suspect about the state of the shark populations in local waters. It made more sense, however, when we discovered that sharks are being caught far offshore, by huge ships in the Atlantic, and then landed in T&T for processing and export.
Papa Bois Conservation and others hope that through educational campaigning, customers will be encouraged to choose an alternative filling for their bakes (the perfect solution would be for the vendors to offer lionfish, which as an invasive species would be the ultimate sustainable choice), and that a shark sanctuary can be established in order to give the populations of Caribbean reef sharks, blue sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks, threshers and hammerheads, a chance to recover. This has been successfully achieved in the Bahamas, and discussions are already underway for how it might be feasible here in T&T.
As for the shark fins, Papa Bois are hoping to persuade the government that T&T should embrace the opportunity to have a huge positive impact on a global conservation issue, and ban all trade in shark products.
So, the problem is both a local and an international one, and one that Marc de Verteuil of Papa Bois Conservation recognises will require a long term vision as well as on the ground educational campaigning. I joined Marc for a day of campaigning on the streets during carnival time, involving parading the streets in the hot sun, handing out shark fact flyers while carrying life-size painted wooden sharks. This certainly caught people’s attention and we received a largely positive response –answering many questions from interested members of the public (dispelling the usual myths about how many thousands of people are killed by sharks each year worldwide– the real number being close to 4). Despite initially being opposed to the idea of swapping shark out of their sandwiches, most people had been unaware that sharks are threatened, and certainly had no idea of the country’s involvement in shark fin export. Education will be vital to the success of this campaign.
I just joined in for one day – a fun and rewarding experience – but Marc and other volunteers have been doing this regularly at well-chosen sites around the country, gaining some excellent local and international press coverage. Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister for the Environment has recently indicated his support for the campaign, so hopefully this momentum will continue and result in some positive action for sharks, both locally and globally.