Coral Catsharks and baby Nurse Sharks are sold for P50 to P80 per kilo in the Bantayan town wet market in these photos taken by marine biologist Ma. May saludsod on June 3, 2015. A Cebu province ordinance bans the capture, killing and sale of all kinds of sharks.(CONTRIBUTED)
Bantayan mayor surprised by photos of sharks sold in wet market
Shark meat for sale in a wet market of Bantayan town in north Cebu has raised anew the challenge of enforcing a ban in Cebu province against the capture, killing or sale of any shark species.
Photos of juvenile sharks stacked in a stall were uploaded on Facebook by a marine researcher who chanced upon the fish laid out in the market on June 3.
The meat was being sold at P50 to P80 a kilo.
“We were about to conduct an underwater survey in Madridejos town. We stopped by Bantayan wet market to buy lunch and we found those sharks. It was taken last June 3,” said Maria May Saludsod, a marine biologist and conservationist who is working on a project in north Cebu.
She identified the species as Coral Catsharks (Atelomycterus marmoratus) and juvenile Nurse Sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum).
Saludsod said that coral catsharks were sold at P50 per kilo while the nurse sharks were sold at P80 per kilo in the market.
Coral Catsharks and baby Nurse Sharks are sold for P50 to P80 per kilo in the Bantayan town wet market in these photos taken by marine biologist Ma. May saludsod on June 3, 2015. A Cebu province ordinance bans the capture, killing and sale of all kinds of sharks.(CONTRIBUTED)
The online photos caught the attention of Vince Cinches, Greenpeace Philippines Oceans Campaigner.
“The continued catching of sharks and rays is illegal and disheartening as we just celebrated World Oceans Day last June 8 and just recently, a group of governors is calling to declare the Visayan Sea as a protected seascape,” said Cinches.
Under a 2012 provincial ordinance, amended in 2014, it is illegal to catch, sell or trade endangered species including all species of sharks within municipal waters.
“Cebu is the only province in the Philippines with this progressive ordinance,” Cinches pointed out.
Eating shark meat is also considered a health risk, he warned. Shark meat has a higher probability of mercury content in its flesh and other toxins bio-accumulated from feeding on lower species.
Overfishing and the indiscriminate killing of sharks is seen as a threat to the marine ecosystem, where sharks, as apex predators, play a key role in maintaining a balance in the ocean. Certain species like hammerheads and whale sharks have become threatened or endangered species.
NOT AWARE
Bantayan Mayor Ian Christopher Escario, in a telephone interview, said he wasn’t aware that shark meat was being sold in town. He was also skeptical that the photos were taken in Bantayan. He sent two personnel to the wet market to check and was awaiting their feedback.
(The marine researcher who took the photos told CDN she was willing to face the mayor and tell him they were authentic.)
The mayor also said he wasn’t aware of the Cebu provincial ordinance which makes it illegal to kill or sell sharks.
Mayor Escario said he only knew that specific species of sharks were protected under an administrative order by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) as stated in posters put up by the agency in Bantayan.
BFAR fisheries administrative order (FAO) 193 of 1998 protects whale sharks and manta rays while FAO 208 of 2001 protects all rare, threatened and endangered marine species.
“I am thankful that you brought up the provincial ordinance,” Escario told CDN.
“Personally, I believe all those who catch and sell sharks should be apprehended. As a diver myself, I think the environment should be protected,” he said.
Escario said he would look up the Cebu ordinance and consult BFAR for guidance.
The last time public attention was drawn to the sale of sharks in Cebu was in June 2014, when a video was uploaded on Facebook showing vendors in a wet market in Daanbantayan town selling bamboo sharks.
This led to a series of stories in CDN about the sale of shark meat in Daanbantayan and Talisay City, including their use in fishballs and seafood tempura, which are popular types of street food.
The Provincial Capitol’s anti-illegal fishing task force had also seized several trucks delivering shark meat to Lapu-Lapu City where fishball factories are located.
Ordinance
In 2012, the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) passed the Local Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Ordinance which seeks to protect sharks and rays, among other marine resources. The original ordinance prohibited catching, selling, and trading of threatened or endangered species.
In September 2014, with shark meat trading in the news, the ordinance was amended to cover all species of sharks within municipal waters.
Erring boat captains or the three highest-ranked boat officers will be charged P5,000 for the first offense and P500 for each fisherman or worker that participated in the offense.
Each violator will fined P1,000 for every kilo of shark species caught, taken, possessed, transported, dealt in, sold, or disposed.
The author of the ordinance, PB Member Thadeo Ouano, said local government units need to be educated more about the ordinance.
“It is the LGUs that will have to implement the ordinance because we can’t keep watch over them all the time,” he said in an interview.
“They have no excuse,” the board member said.
Another amendment to the ordinance is set for third reading.
If the change is approved, the ordinance will no longer cover shark species that were not caught within municipal waters for as long as transporters or dealers can provide the necessary permits.
Responsibility
Lawyer Chad Estella, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), said the campaign for the protection of sharks and other marine species should begin at the local government level.
“They should bear in mind that municipal waters are under the jurisdiction of the LGU. They are the ones tasked to keep watch, we, in the province, only support,” said Estela.
“We held consultative meetings with barangay officials. We even mentioned recent updates, especially on the amendments concerning sharks. Besides, that was printed in the newspapers,” he said.
On July 1-2 the Cebu provincial government will host the second Shark Summit.
The summit will convene stakeholders including Bantay Dagat volunteers, and hotel and resort operators, to craft a plan to enforce the provincial ordinance.
Estella said he hopes they can present the implementation plan to Gov. Hilario Davide III by then.