Sea Shepherd Hong Kong Reveals Illegal Shark Fin Shipments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
31st May 2018
On May 11th, 2018 Sea Shepherd Hong Kong discovered a large shipment of shark fins that arrived from Sri Lanka for Win Lee Fung Ltd of Hong Kong. The total shipment was 980kg which was flown to Hong Kong on a Singapore Airlines flight. Singapore Airlines had already joined other responsible airlines and banned the carriage of shark fins on all its routes.
“Singapore Airlines are yet another victim of these shark fin smugglers, who deceived the airline by declaring the shipment as ‘dried seafood’ to skirt the airlines internal booking checks,” said Gary Stokes, Asia Director for Sea Shepherd Global.
Last year Sea Shepherd Global carried out a three-month investigation in Hong Kong and discovered shipments from Maersk, Virgin Australia Cargo and Cathay Pacific who were all victims of the deceitful shark fin industry. In all cases the shipments were being booked with vague descriptions such as “Dried Seafood” or “Marine Products”.
What makes the most recent case even worse is that Sea Shepherd found Whale Shark fins and possibly Oceanic Whitetip fins in the shipment. These are Cites Appendix 2 species and need to have an export permit from CITES Sri Lanka. These protected species were hidden among legal fins to avoid detection.
What these smugglers are doing by using a vague description is firstly getting the shipment carried by a company that has a ban in place, but secondly the vague description puts them further down the priority list for an already over-stretched Hong Kong Customs who can barely check 1% of all containers arriving. By declaring as “Dried Seafood” the container will likely never be checked, therefore these smugglers can place anything inside.
Sea Shepherd Global have asked the Hong Kong Government for a mandatory use of the international Harmonised Shipping Codes for all wildlife products at time of booking for any goods destined to Hong Kong. Only then would Hong Kong Customs and AFCD (Agricultural, Fisheries & Conservation Department) stand a fighting chance to have more effective inspections on containers when they know the contents before they arrive. Currently the shark fin smugglers have to declare what they had shipped, 14 days AFTER the container has arrived in Hong Kong or face a HK$80 (US$10) late penalty. By the time they declare the shipment is already dispersed and no inspections could ever be carried out.
“They should no longer be called shark fin traders but shark fin smugglers which is exactly what they are, and they should be dealt with as smugglers, instead of being pampered in fear of upsetting livelihoods; they are criminals,” said Gary Stokes. “AFCD Officers need to be given the power to enter, search and prosecute, yet they either do not have the powers or they lack the initiative and incentive to do so.”
Sea Shepherd presented this case in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco) this week as an example to the Hong Kong Government of the current failings and loop holes that the Trans-National Wildlife Crime syndicates are exploiting, and where Hong Kong has the opportunity to really make a massive difference to combatting wildlife crime on the world stage, if only it chose to give the right tools for the Customs & AFCD to be able to do their jobs efficiently (Gary Stokes starts at 46:45) https://youtu.be/_j0FMUTnZMw
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Hi-Res images and video footage reel: https://minerva.seashepherdglobal.org/share.cgi?ssid=0n2UKgH
All images and video please credit: Sea Shepherd Global
20180511_122632 Large 980kg shipment of fins arriving from Sri Lanka
20180511_122803 Whale Shark fins and possibly Oceanic Whitetip
20180511_124535 Sacks of shark fins carried on Singapore Airlines from Sri Lanka
20180528_172046 Gary Stokes with images taken in front of Legco (Hong Kong)
Airway Bill showing the flight and route
Sack showing the Airway bill sticker and sender/receiver details
Related article: "Sea Shepherd Investigation Reveals Huge Volume of Shark Fins Evading Shipping Bans" (March 6, 2017)
For further information and interview requests, contact:
Heather Stimmler, Media Director Sea Shepherd Global
E-mail: media@seashepherdglobal.org
Tel: +339 7719 7742
Sea Shepherd Global
Sea Shepherd is an international non-profit marine conservation movement using innovative tactics and direct action to defend, conserve and protect the worlds oceans and marine wildlife. Founded by Paul Watson in 1977, today Sea Shepherd is a worldwide movement with independent national and regional entities in over 20 countries, united by a common mission and a fleet of eleven ships on campaigns around the world. Sea Shepherd investigates and documents violations of international and national conservation law, and enforces conservation measures where legal authority exists. For more information, visit: http://www.seashepherdglobal.org/
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