"73 million sharks per year"

[Lazlo]

From the New Scientist

At least four times as many sharks are killed for their fins as are reported in official figures.

From inventories of shark-fin sales at auctions in Hong Kong, researchers from the University of Hawaii and elsewhere estimate that the numbers of sharks caught around the world are far higher than the figures published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. "It is not a question of blaming the FAO," says Shelley Clarke, who led the investigation. "But it highlights the scepticism we should have about fisheries data," she adds.

Clarke's team collected auction inventories from leading Hong Kong fin markets between October 1999 and March 2001. About 1.7 million tonnes of fins are sold globally each year, Clarke estimates, more than quadruple the 0.39 million tonnes estimated by the FAO. This equates to 73 million sharks per year (Ecology Letters, vol 9, p 1115).

If anything, the team's figures are likely to be underestimates, says Clarke, as they are based on data only from international auctions.