Shark advocate and environmental activist Marc de Verteuil is making another appeal to the authorities to get serious about protecting local sharks.
He made the appeal after a photo of a Tiger Shark, also known as the “Sea Tiger,” which was reportedly caught off Tobago waters, was posted on 104FM’s Facebook page on August 21. In one photo, the shark appeared dead and was lying across a table on a beachfront. In another photo, two fishermen were getting ready to cut it open. On a video posted on Facebook, a comment noted that the shark was caught of Pigeon Point.
The photo generated several Facebook comments, with some people expressing their outrage that the creature was captured, while others were alarmed that the shark was caught in Tobago waters.
According to the National Geographic website: “The tiger shark’s reputation as an indiscriminate eater that will swallow anything it finds, including garbage, has earned it the nickname wastebasket of the sea. They are listed as near threatened throughout their range.”
The T&T Guardian could not confirm exactly where the shark was caught, but Tobago craftsman Alan Marcelle said the information reaching him was that it was caught by a tourist who was fishing.
Yesterday, de Verteuil, who had led a campaign to stop the slaying and eating of shark, noting that eco-tourists flock to various islands to view such creatures in their natural habitat and their existence in our waters could boost tourism.
“This is the tragedy of the commons. That Tiger Shark could have been worth millions to Tobago tourism, but instead of protecting it, we ate it. We fail as a nation each time we eat a shark.”
He added, “At Jupiter, Florida, scuba divers pay US$100 to spend a day diving with these sharks. There are companies that do dive charters each day of the week, taking out 10-20 divers at a time. Communities there earn millions of dollars from shark dive tourism.
“This stands in sharp contrast with T&T, where for decades we have struggled to develop a tourism product and identity. Instead of sustainable use of sharks, we have developed a destructive and unsustainable shark fishery.”
He pointed out that in T&T a shark is worth no more than the market value of its meat.
“For argument's sake, let’s say that Tiger Shark is worth TT$1000 to the fisherman who caught and sold it. That is not even the revenue that a Florida dive operator will earn from selling two dive spots to see Tiger Sharks at Jupiter.
“A 2011 study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science found that in Palau, a tourism dependent island in the Pacific, each live shark is worth nearly US$2 million to the economy. This is mostly due to the revenue earned from divers who travel from all over the world to dive in the shark sanctuary that was established there in 2009. The study also found that a dead shark is worth US$108 when sold for meat.’
Apart from tourism, he said sharks keep the oceans productive and healthy.
“Removing this apex predator from the ocean has reduced productivity for Tobago's fishery sector. Fishermen need sharks to sustain their livelihood,” he said.
Noting that global attitudes towards sharks have changed, he said many Caribbean islands have recently declared shark sanctuaries.
“Sharks are worth more alive than dead,” he said, adding, “T&T needs to get serious about protecting its natural resources if we want to develop tourism. If the Minister of Tourism and Minister of Agriculture got together and did a cost/benefit analysis using scientific data they will conclude that sharks are too valuable to be eaten.”