Shark Finning is Destroying the Livelihood of Small-Scale Fishermen

Small-scale fishermen in Asian countries are one group of people that are very opposed to shark finning. Many fishermen around the world are falling on difficult economic times. In the commercial fishing business, fisherman must be able to catch a certain number of fish a day, otherwise they will not make a profit. They are unable to do so in some cases when there are not fish to catch. Some "artisanal" fisherman who choose to participate in the shark finning trade are also put into an unfair situation, as they are in competition with much larger finning vessels. For example, at the height of the shark fin trade, which was around 2005, there were upwards of 150 foreign and large-scale fisheries positioned in East Asia with the primary intention of participating in the shark fin trade (Shark Savers 2014). Also, Shark finning is not a sustainable industry. In both the case of a small-scale fisherman, and a small-scale "artisanal" fisherman, the large global shark fin trade is detrimental to their livelihood. For the small fisherman, the excessive hunting of sharks, and the resulting population boom of large mammals and fish, has led to a decrease in smaller fish that fishermen rely on to make a living. Also, for the "artisanal" fisherman, the large-scale fisheries make the shark fin industry unpredictable. For example, in 2005, after the industry started becoming wildly successful in some parts of the world such as West Africa, it declined by 50% over the following three years (Shark Savers 2014). Smaller fishermen, whether directly or indirectly impacted by the actions of large-scale fisheries, oppose the global shark fin trade, as it has been disastrous toward their livelihoods.

Small-Scale Shark Finning

Works Cited:

Shark Savers. (2014) Finning and the Fin Trade. Shark Savers. Shark Savers Inc. (Date Accessed: February 19, 2014.) http://tinyurl.com/kttsq9v.