News

According to a report in the local media, dive operators in Fiji have called for an immediate halt of shark finning in the islands nation to preserve its reefs and tourism industry.

Mike Neuman, the leader of the movement and the director of a local dive operation, began the call to end finning after discovering that fishermen were still engaging in the illegal practice. For Neuman and the other followers, the issue is as much based in an environmental concern as it is in one the island nation’s biggest industry- diving tourism.

“It has been observed that where there are reef sharks, the parrot fish that feed on coral cannot stay in one location for long but need to remain on the move,” explained Neuman. “This prevents [parrotfish] from over-exploiting the corals.”

On a more quantifiable level, Neuman estimates that without immediate steps to enforce anti-shark finning legislation, Fiji risks losing 55 percent of its GDP- a risk “the county can simply not afford.” What is most amazing is the discrepancy in values between the dive industry and the fishermen.

"As to the value of sharks for dive tourism, we have calculated that a single shark on our shark dive contributes 30,000 Fiji dollars (US$16,600) to the local economy annually, or 600,000 Fiji dollars (US$330,000) during its lifetime,” estimated Neuman.

Meanwhile, for the fishermen who choose to fin these sharks illegally, the profits are far less rewarding: sometimes as little as $50 in Fiji. But the true price to be paid is the cost it has on the environment.