The master of a Spanish-flagged fishing vessel was charged in court, after more than a tonne of shark fins were found onboard upon detention off Ireland’ southwest coast. Meanwhile, a release bond of €335,000 was placed upon the vessel.
Last week, an inspection team from the patrol vessel ‘William Butler Yeats’ boarded the ‘Virxen da Blanca’ about 150 nm south of Mizen Head and found a 164,250kg of blue shark, 98kg of mako shark and 1,250kg of shark fins onboard, while up to 5,000 sharks are estimated to have been caught and stored on the vessel, local media reported.
The vessel was then escorted into Castletownbere, Co Cork, where it was handed over to the Garda Síochána, assisted by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA). A hearing was conducted at the Clonakilty District Court last Saturday.
We have zero tolerance for vessels removing fins from sharks in our waters,
…noted SFPA chair Dr Susan Steele.
She added that SFPA staff will further inspect the vessel to conduct DNA analysis of samples of over a tonne of fins found onboard.
Removing shark fins at sea is forbidden under 2013 EU regulations, but shark fins can fetch a high price in Asia, where they are used in sharkfin soup. Normally, the fins are removed while the shark is still alive and it can then no longer swim and either suffocates or is eaten by predators.
