Illegal shark meat sold as legal fish

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This video from the USA says about itself:

A Symphony of Sharks

2 August 2013

NOAA Fisheries proudly presents an ode to sharks and shark research.

After scandals like illegal horse meat sold as beef …

Translated from Dutch Vroege Vogels TV:

Shark meat surreptitiously in fish products

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

A large part of the fish sold on [Caribbean island] Sint Maarten contains surreptitiously added shark meat. This is evident from genetic research on fish from restaurants, supermarkets and shops commissioned by the Nature Foundation Sint Maarten. The shark meat regularly was of threatened shark species. The project Save Our Sharks, which is dedicated to sharks in the Caribbean, thinks that shark meat is also added to seafood in other parts of the world.

Imports from Asia

Products and dishes like fish and chips, saltfish, fish soup and swordfish tested positive for the presence of shark meat. The tested products were imported and came probably from Asia. According to Save Our Sharks shark meat is often traded there as bycatch. In the products species were found such as blue shark, shortfin mako shark, silky shark and bigeye thresher shark. Each year 100 million sharks all over the world are killed in fishing.

Health

Sharks store toxins in their meat and liver. It is known that shark meat, therefore, can contain high levels of toxic methyl mercury. This stuff is especially harmful to pregnant women and children.

Tourism

Sint Maarten is a tourist resort and restaurants on the island are serving large quantities of fish. Tourists on the island so possibly get a serving of endangered species, which also can be hazardous to health. Save Our Sharks wants to expand the study to other regions in the Caribbean and beyond.

The ocean’s fastest shark is being threatened by over fishing. Shortfin mako shark fishing mortality rate is much higher than previously thought: here.

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