Shark utilization, marketing and trade FAO Shark utilization, FISHERIES TECHNICAL marketing and trade PAPER 389 by Stefania Vannuccini FAO Consultant Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 1999 Cf"''.!!-; material The des»gnaik>ns employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of rtsauthorities. or cofKeming the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. M^7 ISBN 92-5-104361-2 All rights resen/ed. No part of this pubitcation may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Information Division. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Viale delle Termed! Caracalla. 00100 Rome. Italy. © FAO 19»9 Copyrighted material PREPARATION OF THE DOCUMENT The population dynamics of sharks arc not well know n, in particular their biology and stock assessment, except for certain species. In general many shark species arc particularly vulnerable to over-exploitation due to their biological characteristic of low reproductive potential and therefore limited capacity to recover from overfishing. Over the last twenty years the increase in demand for and value of fins and cartilage and the expansion of the market for shark meat have caused a consistent growth of recreational and commercial shark fisheries. At the same time, a growing international concern over the possible effects of this continued exploitation on marine food chains is emerging together with the need for improving the available information on shark species and their utilization. Some species have been classified as endangered and a few governments have implemented protection measures. Interest in a more co-ordinated international action culminated in the adoption of an ''International Plan of Action for the conservation and management of sharks*' at the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in February 1999. The need to collect more information on biological and trade data on shark species has led FAO to undertake various technical studies on sharks and other cartilaginous fish, including their biology and utilization. This document has been prepared in this framework and updates the FAO/UNCTAD/GATT book "Shark utilization and marketing”, authors R. Kreuzer and R. Ahmed, issued in 1978. This study is financed under project GCP/INT/643 'JPN-Component 5 “Biological and Trade Status of Sharks". This technical paper provides a comprehensive and timely report on shark products in trade and identifies regional and worldwide trends in demand and supply. It is divided in a world overview, with selected country focuses, written by Ms Stefania Vannuccini. consultant of the FAO Fish Utilization and Marketing Service (FlIU). and in various Appendixes that, with the exception of Appendix I, have been w ritten by experts external to FAO. Many interesting sections of these appendixes have been included in the main document, in particular in the chapters describing shark products. Appendix 1 reports the International Plan of Action for the conserv ation and management of sharks that has been approved during the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in February 1999. The other appendixes have been prepared by different consultants. Ms Sei Poh Chen (Malaysia) is the author of Appendix II w hich focuses on individual countries, their commercially important shark species and their utilization. In Appendix 111 Mr Hooi Kok Kuang (Singapore) analyses non-food uses of sharks as cartilage and liver oil. The studies covered under appendix IV are country and regional analysis: Mr Hooi Kok Kuang wrote on Hong Kong, Ms Sei Poh Chen on Singapore and Malaysia. MrR.A.M. Vamia (India) on India. INFOYli on China. Mr Santiago Caro Ros of INFOPESCA on Latin America. Mr Massimo Spagnolo (Italy) on the Mediterranean and MrO. Abobarin. Mr O.K.L. Drammieh and Mr M. Njie on Gambia and Ghana. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author is grateful to those w ho contributed to the preparation of this study. The author hereby acknow ledges the important contributions of the authors of the individual appendixes carried out at a national level. Special thanks arc due to Ms Marion Clucas for editing the study and for her useful comments, to the FAO colleagues in the Fishery Information. Data and Statistics Service (FIDO who kindly provided the latest available data, to Ms Joanne Antonclli, Administrative Clerk of the FAO Fishery Industries Division. Particular thanks are due to Ms Hclga Josupcit. Fishery Industry Officer of the FAO Fish Utilization and Marketing Service (FIIU) who coordinated the project of the study. The author also wishes to express her gratitude to the Japanese Government for the economical support provided in the pursuance of the aforementioned activities. Front cover photographs have been kindly prov ided by Mr Hooi Kok Kuang. on» iii laiifial 9JFG-G4W-YPL3 Vannuccini, S. Shark utilization, marketing and trade. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper.'t<o.iS9. Rome, ?AO. 1999. 470p. ABSTRACT Sharks belong to the Chondrichihyes class, together with skates, rays and chimaeras and arc found throughout the world in a wide variety of habitats and employing many biological strategies. Though sharks make up only a small percentage of the world's recorded fish landings, they arc extremely versatile and arc a valuable resource. They arc of primary importance in some regions of the world, sustaining important fisheries in some countries. Moreover, they have been, and arc. a cheap but valuable source of protein for coastal communities dependent on subsistence fisheries. Humans can utilize much of the carcass for food or other uses. Sharks are exploited for their meat. fms. skin, liver, teeth, cartilage and other internal organs. Shark flesh is used for meat which is highly favoured in some regions, most particularly in Europe with northern Italy and France as the major consuming countries and Spain as the world's largest exporter of shark meat. Meat is a high protein, low fat product; healthy as long as those specimens with a high mercury content are avoided. Shark intestines and skin arc also eaten, chiefly in some Asian countries. Shark skin is u.scd to make leather and sandpaper. Shark liver oil is used in the textile and leather industries, a.s a medicine and health supplement, as an ingredient of cosmetics and as a lubricant. This is not a negligcable use of shark as between 2 500 and 3 000 specimens arc required to make one tonne of shark liver oil. Production of shark cartilage products is a growing industry in shark processing, as the cartilage is being advocated as a cure for many conditions, particularly those associated with old age but also includes cancer and even AIDS. Even shark teeth and "bones’* are made into curios and any discarded parts of the carcass can be made into fishmeal and fertilizer. Shark fin is one of the costliest marine commodities and is used as a soup ingredient in communities of Chinese origin all over the world. China is the world's largest producer and trader in shark fin. Hong Kong appears to have out<sourced much of its processing of shark fin to China, taking advantage of the lower labour costs, however it remain.s the most important market in shark fin. The world trade figures for shark fin almost certainly include some double counting, as fins are frequently re-e.\portcd afier further processing. It is surmised that improved techniques in the processing of shark fin. developed because of the exorbitant price of this commodity, have led to a reduction in the amount of raw material required to produce soup. It is interesting to note that the liberal use of salt in the preparation of shark fin, which the Chinese consumers complained about, is recommended in the section on preparation in the appendix IV. 3 on the Indian shark industry. it is not possible to make all these uses of each shark, as the methods of preserv-ation and preparation arc oficn mutually exclusive and not all species of shark arc suitable for every application. This report details the species used and the methods of preparation for the various purp>oscs: meal, fins, liver oil, skins, cartilage and other uses. Contributions from East Asia, reported in the Appendixes contain many photographs of the fins traded and identify the species they belong to. using their local names and allocating the scientific name where possible. The nomenclature of shark, not only the common names and the names of processed parts, but even the scientific names, where multiple synonyms exist, only add to the confusion when trying to collect or assess data. This publication brings together information from those parts of the world where sharks are important economically, as a substantial fisheries sector, a contribution to human food or a valuable trading item, with the latest statistics available, and with those on a world-wide basis ftxim FAO. When comparing published $la(i.stics it is noticeable that few individual species are itemized and that there are significant discrepancies between available sources. Distribution: FAO Fisheries Department Directors of Fisheries GLOBHFISH mailing list iv Copyrighted material 3 1 CONTENTS PaRc Standard symbols ... ^ iii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. BIOLOGY 1 3. CATCliES.. 3.1 CATCHES BY SPECIES - 3.2 rATriiFS by country 3.3 C ATCHES IW FISHINT. AREA. 11 1 n 3 . 3. IVeslern Central Pacific 13 3 . 3.4 Northwe.it Pacific !4 3 . 3.5 Eastern Central Pacific 14 .IS 1ft 17 IS IQ 1») 3 4 roMMi 3APttnTPr_TioN.