May 14, 2009 11:18 AM

Mozambique Loses Millions To Illegal Shark Fishing

MAPUTO, May 14 (Bernama) -- The Mozambican state has been losing millions of US dollars because of illegal shark fishing by foreign vessels in the country's waters, the Mozambican news agency (AIM) said quoting a report in Wednesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".

The illegal vessels mostly come from Tanzania and operate in the waters off the coat of Memba and Nacala districts, in the northern province of Nampula. The local maritime administration currently lacks the resources to inspect the coastal waters effectively.

A kilo of shark fins is sold for about US$750 in the international market, but fetches much higher prices in the Asian shops and restaurants where it is regarded as a delicacy.

Nacala maritime administrator Daniel Sitoe told reporters that shark fishermen use barbaric methods, hacking the fins off the shark while it is still alive, and then throwing the fish back into the sea, where it succumbs to a slow and cruel death.

He said that it is not easy to detect the illegal fishing, and the authorities rely on denunciation by local artisanal fishermen to record the illegal vessels.

He said that reports of dead sharks on the coast are frequent in Nacala.

"When we receive reports of a case of illegal fishing we just record it in our books, based on the reports of members of the artisanal fisheries management committees who denounce such cases, because we do not have the resources to go and verify on the spot", said Sitoe.

He added that the Tanzanian fishermen are also looting sea cucumbers from Mozambican coastal waters.

-- BERNAMA

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