What is the value of a shark?
For the fishing industry, this question is answered relatively quickly – although the fish dies in the process and ceases to function. What value does the (surviving) living animal have for society, the economy and the environment if it exists until its natural death and is not fished? Does this value exceed that of the dead animal?
These questions are being clarified for the first time. The analysis is not abstract and general, but detailed for individual regions and specific species within them.
ElasmOcean is supporting the organisation Shark Allies in this endeavour. A detailed report on the population of Great Hammerhead Sharks in the waters of the Bahamas has now been published.
Based on an average population of 100 individuals, each single living Great Hammerhead Shark is worth US$293,743. Calculated for the entire population of the Bahamas, this equates to a total value of US$29.4 million. This is the value that living Great Hammerhead Sharks in the Bahamas represent for the region's ecosystem and economy.
In contrast, the dried fins of a single dead Great Hammerhead Shark fetch only a one-off sum of around US$1,100 on the Asian market.
The Great Hammerhead Shark has been listed in Appendix II of the CITES Convention since 2014, and is therefore specifically protected for conservation reasons because it is highly endangered: according to the Mokarran Protection Society, the population has declined by 80% over the past 70 years due to fishing. In the waters of the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (AWZ) of the Bahamas, shark fishing and all trade have been completely prohibited since 2011. The Bahamas had already anticipated the value of sharks for tourism and, above all, for the ocean ecosystem. Now, concrete figures are available.
Detailed information: https://sharkallies.org/the-true-value-of-sharks/guadalupe-white-sharks-valuation-report-g26mr-rj8at
The full report can be requested from Shark Allies.
