30 'Finned' Sharks Washed Up On New Zealand Beach
By Wendy Heller, January 11, 2008 @ 02:00 AM (EST)
Source: Wildlifeextra.com
Commercial fishermen said they believed the incident was isolated, but anecdotal evidence suggests that ‘finning’ of live sharks is not uncommon in New Zealand waters.
It is difficult to know for sure - what we do know is that finning of dead sharks is fairly common practice in New Zealand waters, where it is permitted by law.
While finning of dead sharks avoids the slow, painful deaths of sharks that are finned alive, the practice still threatens the sustainability of shark populations.
112 Species of Shark in NZ Waters
There are 112 species of shark in New Zealand and about 70 of these are caught by fishers, for meat and other products as well as their fins. The most commonly caught species include rig (or lemonfish), dogfish, nurse shark, dark and pale ghost shark, mako, porbeagle and blue sharks. The great white (or pointer) sharks of Jaws fame have recently been granted protection under New Zealand law, and cannot be legally caught.
Because most sharks are slow-growing and produce few young, they are susceptible to over-fishing. While sharks may have a reputation as Jaws-style savage killers, shark attacks are rare – there is a much higher chance of being killed by being struck by lightning than being killed by a shark. There hasn’t been a fatal shark attack in New Zealand since the 1960s. Sharks are at far greater risk from humans than humans are from sharks.
While finning of dead sharks avoids the slow, painful deaths of sharks that are finned alive, the practice still threatens the sustainability of shark populations.
112 Species of Shark in NZ Waters
There are 112 species of shark in New Zealand and about 70 of these are caught by fishers, for meat and other products as well as their fins. The most commonly caught species include rig (or lemonfish), dogfish, nurse shark, dark and pale ghost shark, mako, porbeagle and blue sharks. The great white (or pointer) sharks of Jaws fame have recently been granted protection under New Zealand law, and cannot be legally caught.
Because most sharks are slow-growing and produce few young, they are susceptible to over-fishing. While sharks may have a reputation as Jaws-style savage killers, shark attacks are rare – there is a much higher chance of being killed by being struck by lightning than being killed by a shark. There hasn’t been a fatal shark attack in New Zealand since the 1960s. Sharks are at far greater risk from humans than humans are from sharks.
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