I sat down with the lengthy document The National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (2006), published by the Department of Fisheries Malaysia in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. It isn’t so much conservation as we know it.

While it admits that it knows very little about the distribution and habitats of sharks in Malaysia, the DFM states clearly in its 10 objectives that it’s priority is “the developing and managing the marine fishery resources to increase production through the rational exploitation of the natural resources”. And whatever conservation it does is eventually for more efficient exploitation.

Which is fair enough. Since that’s what the DFM is for… the management and exploitation of natural resources for the economic benefit of the country. Which only makes glaringly obvious that we do not have a Department of Conservation of National Resources.

Overall, it was a well-researched document. It cited 23 references, including academic studies from local universities and a few from foreign academics. There was none of the jingoism I have come to associate with government documents. (Except for the five times that the document states again-and-again that “Sharks and rays are not targeted by fishers in Malaysia”.)

Few studies and publications dealing with identification of shark are available in Malaysia. Cantor (1849) published a catalogue of Malaysian fishes, comprising 292 fishes and only 28 species of sharks and rays. Scott (1959) described 294 marine fishes of Malaysia, of which, only 25 species are sharks and rays. Mohammed Shaari (1971) identified 6 species of sharks and rays in the trawl catches of Penang waters. Mohsin and Ambak (1996) provided taxonomic keys to 40 species of sharks and rays from 19 families found in Malaysian waters. In an 18-month shark biodiversity study, Manjaji (2002) has managed to record 32 species of sharks and 41 species of rays in both inland and marine waters of Sabah. Mansor et al. (1998) produced a field guide on commercial marine fishes of the South China Sea area describing 8 species of sharks and 8 species of rays.

Ahmad et al. (1999) reported 48 species of sharks and 41 species of rays inhabiting the Malaysian fisheries waters from a study conducted within a year. In the other study and compilation by Ahmad et al. (2004), a total of 63 species of sharks, 68 species of rays and 3 species of chimaeras were recorded. Recent study conducted by Yano et al. (2005), a total of 56 species of sharks, 52 species of rays and 2 species of chimaeras were confirmed to inhabit in Malaysian waters. The study also indicates that only 7 species of sharks and 5 species of batoids are common and widely distributed in Malaysia. Out of this, almost all the sharks and rays species are food fish (with exception of batoids from family Narcinidae).

On the landing of sharks in Malaysia:

The landings of sharks and rays have increased considerably from 10,792 tonnes in 1982 to 27,948 tonnes in 2003, with significant growth since the late 1980s (Figure 1). The rays have contributed to the significant increase in landings from 5,540 tonnes in 1985 to 10,550 tonnes in 1987. Malaysia reports its catches by groups of sharks and rays but not by species. In 2003, the catches of sharks and rays were 8,695 tonnes and 19,253 tonnes respectively (Table 1).

The trend of sharks’ landings has increased from 4,140 tonnes in 1990 and reached its peak at 8,695 tonnes in 2003. It is observed that the trend stabilised at around 5,000 tonnes from 1982 to 1990 but increased gradually to 8,695 tonnes in 2003 (Figure 1). This is mainly due to the contribution of the deep-sea trawlers since 1987. In 2003, total landings of sharks in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan were 3,195 tonnes, 3,499 tonnes, 1,878 tonnes and 124 tonnes, respectively. The catches from Sarawak, Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan contribute 60% of the total catch. Since 1989, a continual increase in sharks’ landings has been observed for Sarawak and Federal Territory of Labuan (Figure 2). This increase in Sarawak is attributed to the deep-sea catch from chartered vessels introduced in 1999. In Sabah, a significant increase in landings has been observed since 1991 and the landings peaked at 3,176 tonnes in 1995. It then declined gradually to 1,577 tonnes in 2001 and this could be due to the overfishing in limited trawlable areas. As for the west coast and east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the landings of sharks stabilised at around 1,000 tonnes and 1,500 tonnes, respectively.

Their contributions have been 2% of the overall fish landings.

I highlighted a number of sections. The ones on the local usage of shark catches was enlightening.

There are only a few small-scale sharks processing plants in the form of cottage industry operated mostly by fisher folks. This is due to the irregular supply of raw materials for continuous operation of these plants.

Sharks are mostly utilised as fresh meat, although some are processed as salted fish. In Mukah Division in Sarawak, where sharks are caught mainly by gill nets, shark meat is mainly eaten raw-a local delicacy called “umai”. “Umai” is a mixture of raw fish meat with local ingredients and the product is now commercially produced in Mukah and Bintulu. A small number of shark’s jaws, and even teeth, are sold as rare souvenir items to enthusiasts. Cartilage and some other discarded parts of the fish are used as bait for fish and crab traps. Small sharks, as well as those that are non-edible or unsuitable for bait are sold to fish mill factories for fertilizers.

Mohsin and Ambak (1996) reported that only five shark species are locally accepted as table food. Both meat and fins from species such as silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformes), blacktip shark (C. limbatus), hardnose shark (C. macloti), spottail shark (C. sorrah), and spadenose shark (Scoliodon laticaudus) are in great demand and the prices of these species are increasing. Other species are also popular locally amongst Malaysian Chinese for their fins and meat, especially blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus), blackspot shark (C. sealei), scallop hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini), great hammerhead (S. mokarran) and smooth hammerhead (S. zygaena). Currently almost all shark species are accepted as table food.

The Malaysian trade in shark’s fin is on a small scale and only about 2.0% of that of Singapore. Malaysia imports shark’s fin from more than 25 countries and exports it to about 15 countries.

On (sic) exports of shark’s meat have been reported since 1991 when they stood at 34 tonnes and worth US$ 42,000. Export has not been very regular and in 1997 they amounted to only 35 tonnes, worth US$15,000.

A trade study made by TRAFFIC (Chen, 1996) showed that most of the shark’s fin processors in Malaysia do not want their activities to be known by the public. Most traders do not advertise their activities in trade directories, chambers of commerce or the dried seafood associations. Except for the sale of popular products such as sashimi and sushi in local supermarkets, shark’s fin processors in Malaysia have not ventured into processing of ready-to-eat products. However, attempts to produce local canned shark’s fin soup were made. One established Malaysian company distributes pouched shark fin soups and dishes under its own label, but the product was processed and packed in Thailand.

Some medicine shops also stock processed shark’s fin and a variety of differently labelled imported shark products that include shark’s cartilage and squalene. The shark’s cartilage has been claimed by producers to have some anti-vascularization or anti-angiogenesis properties, and has the potential to provide some cure for pathological conditions.

The only legal protections the sharks have:

There is no specific regulation pertaining to the management of sharks and rays except for whale shark (Rhincodon typus), which is listed under the Fisheries (Control of Endangered Species of Fish) Regulations 1999.

Regulation stipulates that no person shall fish or, disturb, harass, catch, kill, take, posses, sell, buy, export or transport any endangered species except with the written permission from Director-General of Fisheries Malaysia.

The document also bravely notes that there is therefore no legal protection for rare species such as pale whipray (Himantura signifer) found in Pahang, and Kinabatangan river shark (Glyphis sp.) and giant stingray (Himantura chaophraya) in Sabah.

At the end of the document, the document calls for more studies. All the way up to 2010, before embarking on plans of action. Which is all well and good if we were talking about fixing a broken chair or figuring out how to programme the DVD player. But at the current growth rate of exploitation, 2010 may be too late for some local species of sharks.