Taipei (dpa) – The Pacific island nation of Palau has fined a Taiwanese fishing boat 65,000 US dollars for illegally catching sharks in its waters, according to the environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday. Palau designated its territorial waters a shark sanctuary in 2009 following reports that global shark populations are being decimated by high demand for shark fins, a traditional delicacy in Chinese cuisine. Palauan authorities boarded Taiwan's Sheng Chi Hui No. 7 in December after a Greenpeace helicopter shot photos of the boat's crew hauling sharks onto the deck. The island nation had signed an agreement with Greenpeace only days before to help patrol over 600,000 square kilometers of water. In addition to the fine, the boat will now be banned from fishing in Palau's waters for one year. “Now we are calling on the Taiwanese government – as the responsible flag state – to better regulate its fishing industry,” Lagi Toribau, the head of Greenpeace's oceans team, said. The Taiwan Fisheries Agency said they have warned their fleet against catching sharks in Palau. “We have been using our channels to encourage our boats to abide by the law in foreign countries, and we hope this is an isolated case,” an agency spokesman said to dpa. “We will not duck responsibility, nor will we protect our boats if they are guilty.” The global demand for sharks has boomed as Asia's economy grows and ethnic Chinese increasingly desire to serve shark fin soup at weddings and banquets to show off their wealth. Each bowl of soup can fetch up to 100 US dollars. The Pew Environmental Group estimates that the fishing industry kills up to 73 million sharks annually, resulting in 30 percent of shark species being threatened or near-threatened with extinction. Taiwan catches 47,635 tons of shark per year, putting it in fourth place globally, according to Pew. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/GMFBZ Tags: Finning, Palau, Shark, Taiwan Section: Animals, East Asia, Environment, Going Green, Latest News, Oceana
