Cabinet has approved a national ban on shark-finning. Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj says shark-finning, which is the practice of slicing off the sharks fins while the shark is still alive and throwing the rest of its body back into the ocean, is not a known practice in T&T but he noted that Hong Kong listed this country as its sixth largest supplier of shark fins in 2011. Trinidad and Tobago, as a signatory to various internationally binding agreements on conservation and trade of biodiversity and in light of the destructive effects of shark-finning to populations and the vulnerability of sharks to over exploitation, it is imperative that this practice be banned. But dont throw away that bake and shark just yet as the Minister said the sale, capturing or eating of shark altogether is not banned. Minister Maharaj said local advocacy groups brought the matter to Governments attention and Trinidad and Tobago will become the first country in the Caribbean to institute such a ban. The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago would be required to make the necessary regulations in accordance with Section 4 of the Fisheries Act, Chapter 67:51 to give effect to this ban.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 21:24:04 +0000