Another Photo of the Shark Fins

I understand that there have been recent sightings of the freshwater shark around Solentiname Island.

The Japanese delivered a deadly blow with a few trawlers in the early 90's in a deal with Chomorro's government. They harvested thousands of them during a 2 year period. These concessions were granted in cooperation and aid given by Japan in the form of hospitals and roads.

Even around the Isletas the fishing is not what it used to be as recently as 10 years ago. Locals with gill nets have made even Guopote scarce. This was told to me by a local who fished many years in Lake Nicaragua.

My friend, MA, to think that sharks are NOT killed ONLY for their fins is just pie-in-the-sky (pick your flavor). To believe that sharks are NOT killed JUST for their fins IN Nicaragua is a fantasy, at best. Shark finning is a global multi-billion dollar enterprise. Google "shark finning"... 'nuff said??

As I said here, shark finning in Nicaragua IS illegal. The source for that is here.

Tons and tons (and tons) of shark fins are "harvested" to feed the Asian market. Taiwan has been a MAJOR culprit in this enterprise. It's all economics -- but that doesn't make it right.

As I stated in the post linked above, no one should object to people catching and eating sharks. The commercial practice of "harvesting" thousands of sharks solely for the fins for exportation to Asia to "feed" the marketplace is abhorrent. PERIOD.

[/non-seafood expert]

post script: I too eat shark meat and enjoy it. And I have had turtle meat with you Miskito Alan! Great meal, eh?

Where are the fresh water sharks? By Josh Berman and Randy Wood, Moon handbooks.

How Carcharhinus leucas became the only shark in the world to be able to pass between saltwater and fresh water is a facinating story. After thousands of years of hunting in the brackish outflow of the Rio San Juan, Nicaragua's freshwater sharks made their way up the river and formed a healthy population in Lake Nicaragua. The tale continues with the arrival of humans and their role as both victims and hunters of Nicaragua's bull shark. A story recounted well in Edward Marriott's 2001 book, Savage Shore. Indigenous tribes on Ometepe worshiped the shark, sometimes feeding their dead to them.

This fear and reverence only faded when the Asian market for shark fin soup helped to create an industry around harvesting the famous fish, culminating in the late 1960s, when Somoza's processing plant in Granada butchered up to 20,000 sharks a year. Today, the only fresh water in the world is seldom seen, although it is still inadvisable to swim in the waters near San Juan del Norte. http://www.experiencenicaragua.com/freshwatersharks.html Maybe I jumped the gun at looking at the picture of the shark fins, again I apologize. You can also read this book on Fresh water shark fishing by Edward Marriot Savage Shore: Life and Death With Nicaragua's Last Shark Hunters (Paperback) http://www.amazon.com/Savage-Shore-Death-Nicaragua-Hunters/dp/0805055568 It was written on 2001. A quote from the book "The coastal and river people hunted the shark for its fins and for its oil, feared and revered it; every village had had family taken in its jaws. It was shark where shark should not be--in fresh water, on human territory."

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but remember it's just as important to listen to differing opinions." -Miskito Alan.

1. I apologize, but I saw a photo of only shark fins and I jumped to the conclusion that it was for the export of shark fins(only)for various homeopathic remedies using shark fins. 2. I , as an individual expressing myself only, do not condone any slaying of any sharks. That is my opinion, not a Nicaraguan law. 3. If you have not seen any freshwater sharks since 1956 in Lake Nicaragua, do not dismiss their existence and/or proclaim their extinction without evidence.

Here's my bibliography. http://www.elasmo-research.org R. Aidan Martin is the Director of the ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research (www.elasmo-research.org), a Research Associate of the Zoology Department of the University of British Columbia, and an Adjunct Professor of the Oceanographic Center of Nova Southeastern University.

you suppose you have the authority to pass judgment on me.

No comment

- yesterday's underdog is today's champion

I think I have this GB Shaw quote correct:

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."