DNA-based species identification of shark finning seizures in Southwest Atlantic: implications for wildlife trade surveillance and law enforcement

Ferrette, Bruno Lopes da Silva; Domingues, Rodrigo Rodrigues; Ussami, Luis Henrique Fregadolli; Moraes, Letícia Cristina Lima; Magalhães, Carolina de Oliveira; Amorim, Alberto Ferreira de; Hilsdorf, Alexandre Wagner Silva; Oliveira, Cláudio; Foresti, Fausto; Mendonça, Fernando Fernandes

doi:10.1007/s10531-019-01862-0

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…Nowadays, DNA barcording is a genetic tool common to prevent or avoid problems of misidentifications in this species. In addition, the mitochondrial oxidized cytochrome I subunit COI fragment (Hebert et al 2003) provides reliable elasmobranch identification (da Silva et al 2019;Bernardo et al 2020), which supports morphological taxonomy (Abdullah et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 55%

First Confirmed Record of the Smalltooth Sand Tiger, Odontapis Ferox, in Galicia (NW Spain)

Mucientes

Vilas-Arrondo²,

Secci‐Petretto

et al. 2023

Thalassas

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The smalltooth sand tiger shark Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810) appears to have an extensive and fragmented distribution in tropical and warm-temperate worldwide oceans. One female of O. ferox was caught and released by a small-scale fishery vessel in Ría de Arousa (Northwest of Spain), subsequently stranded still alive on the coast (42°33’18.4"N 8°49’18.3"O) after a few hours. The individual (336 cm total length, weight ~ 300 kg) was identified based on a collection of features including the characteristic dentition, body morphology and by molecular assignment. This is the first confirmed record of O. ferox in Galician waters. This finding complements the knowledge of the geographic distribution and occurrence of this rare and sparse species in the Northeastern Atlantic.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 55%

First Confirmed Record of the Smalltooth Sand Tiger, Odontapis Ferox, in Galicia (NW Spain)

Mucientes

Vilas-Arrondo²,

Secci‐Petretto

et al. 2023

Thalassas

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“…This demonstrates how morphological identification keys are useful as a first step during the process of screening for CITES‐listed species; but also highlights the difficulties of the identification process based on morphological characteristics alone. Dried shark fins could be missing representative diagnostic characteristics, making morphological identification a challenging task that can give unreliable results even for experts (da Silva Ferrette et al, 2019). Fin desiccation often results in color changes and drying may morph and curl the tissue, as was evidenced in this shipment with several fins in poor morphological condition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shark fins are the main globally traded product under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora—CITES (Cardeñosa et al, 2018). Trade is mainly driven by high demand for shark fin soup, a traditional Chinese dish in the Asian market (da Silva Ferrette et al, 2019). In China, the special economic area of Hong Kong is the world's largest shark fin importer of CITES‐listed sharks (Cardeñosa et al, 2018; Clarke et al, 2006) and its fin market is supplied by around 130 countries (Shea & To, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular analyses of confiscated shark fins reveal shortcomings of CITES implementations in Germany

Villate-Moreno

Pollerspöck²,

Kremer‐Obrock³

et al. 2021

Conservat Sci and Prac

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A three-ton shipment of dry shark fins was examined by German customs in 2017 leading to the confiscation of 405 kg of potential CITES species. We analyzed a subsample of this material (115 specimens) using DNA sequence-based identification and compared results to morphological screening of CITES species. We found a mixture of CITES regulated (4 of 11 species) and unregulated shark species. Our results demonstrate the difficulties of identifying CITES species morphologically in large fin shipments of mixed species composition. Correct identification of CITES species based on morphology alone may be hindered by missing characters or those altered by drying. We therefore suggest random molecular screening as a uniform approach for German customs authorities to check species composition and identify CITES regulated species in transit shipments.

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“…The retail of all shark species under the same name also undermines the environmental regulations (Jacquet & Pauly, 2008). The lack of such information can potentially hide illegal activities, such as fisheries in marine protected areas (Luiz & Edwards, 2011;Giglio et al, 2018), the practice of shark finning (Ferrette et al, 2019), and catches exceeding the determined fishing quotas (Barreto et al, 2016).…”

Section: The Extensiveness Of the Cação Namementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Brazilian Constitution stipulates a precept to 'preserve and restore essential ecological processes and provide an ecological management of species and ecosystems' (Chamber of Deputies, 2010). Contrary to this clearly stated aim, a disregard for the environmental legal framework is prevalent in fishery management, which is frequently influenced by industry-based lobbying interests (Ferrette et al, 2019). To counter this, strong and viable public policies, conservation plans, and fisheries management should be supported by strict laws'; and most importantly, Ordinance…”

Section: Towards Sustainable Fisheriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity on sale: The shark meat market threatens elasmobranchs in Brazil

Cruz

Szynwelski

Freitas

2021

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Elasmobranchs are apex predators that play a crucial role in marine ecosystems by regulating the dynamics of food webs, as well as connecting different trophic levels across habitats.2. The large-scale removal of elasmobranchs impacts the energy transfer in trophic interactions. The pressure of unsustainable fisheries is considerable, as most elasmobranchs have reproductive strategies that render them unable to recover their demographic status after depletion.3. In Brazil, elasmobranchs are broadly commercialized under the generalist common name of 'cação' (namely, shark meat). This allows threatened species to be commercialized and makes the tracking of different species difficult.4. DNA barcoding of the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was applied to identify the different species sold as 'cação' along the coastline of Brazil. Fiftyseven samples from 33 cities in 15 coastal states of Brazil were purchased and analysed.5. Bioinformatic analyses revealed the presence of 17 species that were sold as 'cação'. Among them, Prionace glauca (blue shark) was the most abundant. Other species, listed as Endangered under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, were also uncovered as being in the shark meat trade, such as Sphyrna lewini (scalloped hammerhead), Isurus paucus (longfin mako shark), and Squatina guggenheim (angular angel shark).6. These findings have reinforced the necessity to correctly label the commercialized species. Public actions towards species-specific management plans must be applied, as well as monitoring the supervised allied educational programmes.

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DNA-based species identification of shark finning seizures in Southwest Atlantic: implications for wildlife trade surveillance and law enforcement

Cited by 21 publications

References 103 publications

First Confirmed Record of the Smalltooth Sand Tiger, Odontapis Ferox, in Galicia (NW Spain)

First Confirmed Record of the Smalltooth Sand Tiger, Odontapis Ferox, in Galicia (NW Spain)

Molecular analyses of confiscated shark fins reveal shortcomings of CITES implementations in Germany

Biodiversity on sale: The shark meat market threatens elasmobranchs in Brazil

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