Shark and ray meat consumption as a threat to India’s elasmobranchs

Karnad, Divya; Narayani, S; Kottillil, Shruthi; Kottillil, Sudha; Gupta, Trisha; Barnes, Alissa; Dias, Andrew D.; Krishna, Yedhu

doi:10.22541/au.166603256.66186502/v2

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“…The state of Goa (35.8%) had the highest percentage of elasmobranch meat selling restaurants, followed by Tamil Nadu (34.6%) and Maharashtra (4.6%) (Figure 1). Restaurants in Gujarat, West Bengal and Odisha did not feature elasmobranchs on the menu (Karnad, 2022). Only one restaurant out of 2649 (in Hyderabad) advertised shark fin soup as part of its Chinese cuisine (Table 2).…”

Section: Hotspots Of Prevalence and Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional hotspots and drivers of shark meat consumption in India

Karnad,

Narayani,

Kottillil

et al. 2023

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Over one third of shark and ray (henceforth elasmobranch) species are threatened by global extinction. Overfishing, driven largely by human consumption of various products is a key threat to >95% of threatened elasmobranch species. The local consumption of elasmobranch meat is an emerging driver of these fisheries particularly in the Global South. Very little data exists on local elasmobranch meat consumption and restaurants offer a useful insight into patterns of consumption. We examined local elasmobranch consumption in India, which has the world's third highest elasmobranch catches. We surveyed 2649 seafood restaurants across 10 coastal states and found that two states alone accounted for 70% of all restaurants serving shark meat. Nine percent of all seafood restaurants advertised elasmobranch meat. 251.6 tonnes, equivalent to 9.8% of India's annual landings, is sold every year in India's restaurants. The drivers of these sales are local cultural affinities and regional cuisines, with evidence of new and evolving consumption pathways, in states like Goa. In Goa, the state with the highest prevalence of elasmobranch meat on restaurant menus, consumption by locals, as well as consumption of “baby sharks” by tourists was driving the demand for elasmobranch meat. Small‐bodied and juvenile sharks of threatened species are at risk from local meat consumption. Elasmobranch meat consumption can be reduced by targeting interventions in the regional hotspots of maximum consumption, substituting other types of seafood as alternatives in regional cuisines, bycatch reduction, increased price and seafood consumer awareness campaigns. Preliminary findings suggest that focusing on the health implications of eating species that concentrate heavy metals will produce the greatest decreases in elasmobranch meat sales at India's restaurants.

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Section: Hotspots Of Prevalence and Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%