Shark fins being burned. (Photo: Javier Maradiaga/PEW)

Hundreds of illegal shark fins burned

One year after President Porfirio Lobo Sosa created a permanent shark sanctuary in Honduran waters, he joined the country’s top law enforcement officials last week to watch the burning of hundreds of illegal shark fins.

These confiscated fins, worth up to USD 300 per lb (USD 700 per kg) in the global marketplace, were destroyed as part of ongoing efforts by authorities to enforce shark protections in Honduras.

President Lobo Sosa set fire to hundreds of confiscated shark fins. (Photo:  Javier Maradiaga/PEW)

“Unfortunately, there are few limits on the number of sharks that can be killed beyond the borders of our sanctuary, but we are committed to putting a stop to this activity in Honduras,” Lobo said. “These animals play an important role in maintaining healthy coastal areas, which our fisheries are dependent upon, and which provide revenue by bringing tourists and divers to Honduras to see sharks. They are worth far more alive than dead.”

The fins, mostly from nurse sharks, were seized in April by the Honduran navy. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports that 30 per cent of all shark populations around the world are threatened or near threatened with extinction.

Shark sanctuary enforcement efforts are gaining momentum worldwide. In 2011 and 2012, several other countries took similar action to enforce their laws, including Palau and the Marshall Islands, where Taiwanese and Japanese vessels were fined USD 65,000 and USD 125,000, respectively.

“We salute the government of Honduras and its law enforcement officers for swiftly implementing its shark sanctuary,” said Maximiliano Bello, who advises the Pew Environment Group on shark conservation and spoke at the event. “More comprehensive measures and enforcement actions such as these are still needed to protect the ocean’s top predators from extinction.”

On 24 June 2011, President Porfirio Lobo Sosa announced a permanent shark sanctuary in Honduran waters. The designation encompasses all 240,000 sqkm (92,665 sqmi) of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on its Pacific and Caribbean coasts.

Honduras has joined five other countries -- Palau, the Marshall Islands, Tokelau, the Bahamas, and the Maldives -- in taking the bold step of permanently protecting sharks in their waters. These sanctuaries cover more than 1.8 million sqmi of ocean. 

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