Paradip: A trawler carrying 250 endangered sharks was seized and 7 crew members were arrested by the Indian Coast Guard, here on Tuesday.
The Paradip Coast Guard Commandant Bhutanath Mahato said that the trawler was intercepted near Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Kendrapada district on the intervening night of January 21/22,2019 and the 250 dead Bull, Spot Tail and Hammerhead baby sharks were seized from its storage room. Seven fishermen and crew members were arrested under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for illegal poaching of endangered marine species.
The sharks were poached with a view to export their fins which are high in demand for their medicinal value and culinary use. In India, sharks are prohibited for export.
The union ministry of environment, forest and climate change has listed ten species of shark in Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 to save the shark species. India has banned export of sharks from the country.
