Sharks More Valuable in Oceans than in Soup Bowls: Study

The value of sharks in the ocean is much higher than their value in the food industry, a new study has found.

The study was conducted by researchers from University of British Columbia, who found that shark tourism currently fetches about US$314 million, when compared with US$630 million from the food industry. However, shark tourism is expected to make over US$780 million in the next two decades.

There aren't that many sharks left in the wild now, and shark fisheries have been declining since the past decade. About 30 million sharks were killed in 2009 for their fins, which go into an Asian soup. The shark fins are cut and the rest of the fish is thrown back into the ocean.

"Sharks are slow to mature and produce few offspring. The protection of live sharks, especially through dedicated protected areas, can benefit a much wider economic spectrum while helping the species recover," said Rashid Sumaila, director of UBC's Fisheries Centre and senior author of the study.

About 180 species of sharks are now listed as threatened species, compared with just 15 shark species that were in the list in 1996. About 73 million sharks are killed every year for their fins.

The tourism industry of Mozambique, where people dive with sharks and manta rays, is now in danger due to the rise of shark fisheries.

Although shark fin soup has been a popular cuisine in Southeast Asian countries, its demand is now slowly declining, thanks to anti-finning campaigning.

The study is published in the journal Oryx - The International Journal of Conservation.