In a move to protect the diverse shark species teeming in its waters, India has recently announced it is putting a stop on shark “finning” by imposing regulations that will be strictly implemented against indiscriminate shark hunting just so the fins could be harvested and delivered abroad, particularly in China where shark fins are a vital ingredient to one of its delicacies, shark fin soup.

The move was announced Monday – fishermen who are found to have hauls with detached shark fins will face up to seven years of imprisonment, under the new policy of India’s Environment Ministry, for sporting on endangered species, no matter what kind of sharks were killed for their fins since it is difficult to identify the different types of the fish through the removed appendages.

Declining Shark Population

Deterioration of shark population is not only seen in the seas around India but throughout the world as well. Experts have revealed that they are seeing an abrupt decline in the numbers of the world’s oldest vertebrates; some shark groups’ numbers are now even just 10 percent of their total 30 years ago. The ocean’s top predators are an integral part in keeping water’s ecosystem healthy since they keep fish and turtle populations in check. But with millions caught and killed every year to meet the growing demands for shark fins in the Chinese market, the fishes are facing near extinction and scientists are worried this will have an adverse effect on the ocean’s health.

Shark finning practice involves fishermen hunting sharks, detaching the fins through slicing and throwing the still alive animals back into the sea. These de-finned sharks eventually die a slow death due to starvation since without their fins, they are unable to navigate and hunt. India is the world’s second shark-catching nation with Indonesia topping this list. TRAFFIC, an international agency that monitors wildlife trade, about 20 percent of worldwide shark hunting is accounted to these two countries.

A Thumbs-Up Move

However, with the advent of the new shark hunting policies, India’s Marine Products Export Development Authority declared that despite steady demands from China for shark fins, Indian fishermen only exported $4.8 million worth of the product, the number less than half of 2010’s $11.3 million. “Fishermen are saying the numbers of sharks they’ve been able to catch has definitely come down,” said C. Samyukta of Humane Society International.

The Indian government’s move to put a halt on excessive shark hunting has also earned approval from global conservationists. They said the current laws might just be the key needed to put an end to a barbarous practice that will, in a short time, wipe out these glorious creatures from the face of the earth. “Given the perilous status of many shark species, we urge the state governments to act quickly and work to enforce the policy,” Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India stated.