 A Gray Reef Shark
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June 2, 2003 — A unique Pacific marine habitat that is home to the world's largest concentration of sharks is being plundered by illegal fishing vessels hunting for sharks fins for the lucrative Asian market.
Shark Pass at Bikini in the Marshall Islands attracts thousands of gray sharks and has become a key part of the diving experience at the atoll.
But the hunger for shark fins, an expensive delicacy in many Asian countries, is destroying it, say those whose livelihoods depend upon the tourists who flock to there.
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Dive master Tim Williams, who has worked at Bikini for two years, said the shark population was dropping.
"I noticed a dramatic drop in the population of gray reef sharks while diving at Shark Pass," he said in a report to Attorney General Atbi Riklon.
"Shark Pass is a unique spot at Bikini Atoll. The population of gray reef sharks has been historically documented as being abnormally high compared to other atolls in the Marshall Islands."
Williams estimates a 50 to 60 percent drop in the shark population.
"On my latest dive on May 4, I noticed hooks and wire leaders on three individual sharks," he said. "I would take this as evidence of recent fishing pressure on the population."
Diving has become a major industry for Bikini, the site of 23 U.S. nuclear tests in the 1940s and 1950s.
In 1946 one blast sank a fleet of World War II ships, including the U.S. aircraft carrier Saratoga, submarines, and Nagato, the flagship that led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Saratoga is the only aircraft carrier in the world sunk at a diveable depth.
Bikini Atoll Mayor Eldon Note sent a letter to the Attorney General at the weekend seeking action on "fishing boats that have been fishing illegally around Bikini Atoll and catching large quantities of sharks."
He said that "this is the second time we are bringing your attention to the fact that fishing boats have been fishing illegally around Bikini Atoll ... We would really like to see something done about this as soon as possible as this is going to have a very negative impact on our tourism operation."
Chamber of Commerce official Don Hess told a business meeting this week that divers visiting Jaluit Atoll earlier in the month found shark long-lining in progress off an ocean side reef on the southern atoll.
Local businessman Kenneth Kramer said that previously divers found Jaluit a prime diving site, but now they are canceling tours to the atoll because the shark population has declined dramatically.
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Name: Gray Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)
Classification: Elasmobranchii (Sharks, Skates and Rays) Location: Pacific and Indian oceans. Habitat: Tropical and subtropical waters; near coral atolls and lagoons around ocean reefs. Diet: Cephalopods, like squids and octopus, and fish, including cowfish, surgeon fish and butterfly fish. Size: Up to 8.3 ft in length. Description: Gray upper body, white underneath. Broadly rounded snout. Most fins have blackish or dusky tips. Cool Facts: It lowers its pectoral fins and raises its back in an arch, like a cat, when threatened. Conservation Status: Lower Risk (Near Threatened) Major Threat: Over-fishing What Can I Do?: Visit The Shark Trust and WildAid's Shark Conservation Program for information on how you can help. |
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