COMMENT | The whole tooth about shark conservation

COMMENT | Last week, an image of dried shark fins sold in Kota Kinabalu went viral among divers and tour operators, raising awareness about shark fishing in Sabah.

Over one-third of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction globally, as a consequence of overfishing, mainly due to accidental catches.

Even though Sabah does not have specific target fisheries for sharks, 713 tonnes of sharks and 1,991 tonnes of rays were landed in 2021.

More than 138,000 individual sharks and rays were estimated to be caught by trawl vessels in just Sabah in a single year, according to Marine Research Foundation (MRF).

This estimate does not include landings from other fishing gears such as the ubiquitous gillnets used by traditional fishers, longlines, and purse seine vessels.

What’s worse, most of these sharks and rays were caught accidentally due to the unselective nature of trawl fishing, in such a way that fishers can’t choose what to catch and what not to catch.

It’s not that sharks and rays are targeted, but similarly, there are few efforts to do anything about it. Over time, this accidental catch of sharks and rays can lead to reduced in population sizes of vulnerable species, and may contribute to local extinctions.

Imagine a Sabah with no sharks...