Context:
Recently, a report ‘Netted in illegal wildlife trade: Sharks of India’ stated, Tamil Nadu tops illegal trade in shark body parts.
Netted in illegal wildlife trade: Sharks of India Report:
- Published by – Trade Records Analysis of Flora and Fauna in Commerce (TRAFFIC) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-India
- Period of Study – 2010 to 2022
- Aim – To sound the alarm about India’s illegal shark trade and highlight ongoing threats and conservation concerns
Key Findings of Report:
- During the study period about 16,000 kg of shark fins were seized, which constitutes almost 80% of the shark-derived products
- Tamil Nadu – Tops with almost 65% of the illegal trade in shark body parts
- Followed by Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, and Maharashtra
According to report by TRAFFIC, India accounts as the 3rd largest shark-producing nation in the world.
- Major Uses –
- Food – Shark-fin soup as a delicacy, meat as food, a source of vitamin A etc.
- Medical purpose – Cartilage for chondroitin sulphate extraction
- Other – Skin as leather, liver oil (squalene) as a lubricant, used in cosmetics, jaws and teeth for making curios (special type boxes)
- Measures Taken by TRAFFIC–
- Created 3D-printed and painted replica fins
- Published a new 3D Shark Fin Identification Guidebook on 11 shark (are listed in Appendix II of CITES )and ray species
Sharks:
- Cartilaginous fishes of top predators in the oceanic food web
- Uniqueness – Fossil records date back 400 million years, outliving the dinosaurs and many other forms of life currently on earth
- Habitat – Deep and shallow waters throughout the world’s ocean
- In India – There are about 160 shark species
- Whale sharks – Largest fish species on Earth
- Conservation status –
- WPA 1972 (Schedules I and II) – 26 out of 160 shark and ray species
- Feeds on – Plankton, fish, crustaceans, and marine mammals
- Threats – Overfishing, Low biological productivity
- Measures – India banned the live finning and the export of fins of all shark and ray species
- Live finning – Practice of cutting off a shark’s fins while it’s still alive and throwing the rest of the animal back into the ocean, where it dies slowly and painfully
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements in respect of Trade Related Analysis of Fauna and Flora in Commerce (TRAFFIC):
1. TRAFFIC is a bureau under United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
2. The mission of TRAFFIC is to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2016 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Statement 2 is not correct:
TRAFFIC is a joint initiative by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
