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© WWF-Canon / Cat HOLLOWAY |
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© WWF-Canon / Cat HOLLOWAY |
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© WWF-Canon / Jürgen FREUND |
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As part of WWF's global Seafood Choice Initiative, WWF Hong Kong launched the Seafood Guide in March 2007 to provide local consumers with a handy reference for selecting sustainably produced seafood.
Due to the wide range of shark species harvested, and the complexity of shark fishery management, individual sharks species were not included in the Seafood Guide. In order to educate individuals and businesses of the particular threats and problems facing the ocean's top predator, WWF has produced a shark leaflet to compliment the Guide.
Sharks are harvested worldwide, sometimes for their meat, but also for an even more lucrative fin trade centred in Hong Kong and the Greater China region. Most of the existing shark fisheries are believed to be unsustainable, causing collapses in some populations.
A large number of shark species are now facing threats of extinction, being listed either on the The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List, or the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Due to the difficulty of identifying shark products that may have come from threatened species, WWF is appealing to Hong Kong citizens and companies to stop consuming shark fin until a sustainable fisheries management plan for sharks is in place to protect threatened species. Strong consumer action will encourage seafood traders to only source shark products from sustainable fisheries.
The shark leaflet is specifically produced with facts and figures that are unique to the shark fisheries including the problem of wastage, fisheries management and the key role of Hong Kong. |
