{"id":94709,"date":"2023-07-31T16:47:38","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T09:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ekuatorial.com\/?p=94709"},"modified":"2023-08-14T16:53:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T09:53:29","slug":"uncovering-indonesias-illegal-shark-trade-2-regulators-and-traders-play-cat-and-mouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ekuatorial.com\/en\/2023\/07\/uncovering-indonesias-illegal-shark-trade-2-regulators-and-traders-play-cat-and-mouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncovering Indonesia’s illegal shark trade [2]: Regulators and traders play cat and mouse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At Tasikagung Port in Rembang District, Central Java, traders gather each day to buy sharks and rays for resale. Among them is Cici Widyastuti, who says she collects at least one pickup truck’s worth of these creatures every day. <\/p>\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThis story also appeared in Mongabay Indonesia\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

Her haul includes threatened species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and therefore subject to Indonesian trade controls. From her warehouse at the end of the harbor, Cici sells fish to various places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this happens without any oversight from officials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shark and ray products trade in Indonesia is a lucrative business, estimated to be worth trillions of rupiah annually. Trade is complex, with many actors. It starts with fishermen who sell their catches to small-scale collectors like Cici Widyastuti. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These individuals then sell fresh or frozen fish, or parts such as shark fins, to larger-scale traders who resell them on to exporters. With so many parties involved, and because shark fin traders use various methods to evade regulations, officials struggle to control or even count what is being sold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Flow
The flow of domestic illegal shark and ray trade. Illustration: A. Asnawi\/Mongabay Indonesia <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unreported catches<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Regulation 61\/2018<\/a> of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, requires business actors to have permits called SIPJI and SAJI to sell and transport sharks and rays. This is intended to ensure the traceability of the species being traded. Applicants for these permits must include a list of fishing vessels, said Anhar Rusdi, head of the Serang Coastal and Marine Resources Management Workshop (LPSPL). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But given Indonesia’s huge fishing fleet, many unregistered vessels catch sharks or rays. In these cases, said Rusdi, it is certain that the species caught are not reported and so must enter the illegal market, because they do not have the required permits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kadromi, a fishing boat owner from Rembang, confirms this. His eight boats routinely catch 1-2 tons of sharks or rays per trip. “But not all of them are reported in the e-logbook,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okta Tejo Darmono, a researcher at the Fisheries Resource Center Indonesia<\/a> (FRCI), believes that the unreported catch of sharks and rays is even greater than what is reported. Increased supervision would reduce this, he said. “Officials must check the accuracy of the catch amount reported in the e-logbook, whether it matches the actual data or not,” Darmono explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But at all the ports Mongabay visited, not a single supervisor monitored or collected data on fish landing activities. Nobody cross-checked the catch with the reported data. Instead, sharks and rays were immediately taken by buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Darmono said it is difficult to determine the volumes of sharks, rays, and their derivatives in both domestic and international markets as there are many illegal and unrecorded products circulating. Meanwhile, there are irregularities in government data, reinforcing concerns about illegal exports of sharks and rays.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"A.
<\/span>A. Asnawi\/Mongabay Indonesia<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A ray measuring more than two meters in length landed at Tasikagung Harbor, Rembang District, Central Java, March 3, 2023.<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Data discrepancies<\/strong>, regulatory challenges<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The 2017-2021 Fishery Product Export Document published by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in 2022 states, for example, that 492.3 tons of dried and otherwise preserved shark fins were exported in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But according to data from the Fish Quarantine and Quality Assurance Center (BKIPM) the total export volume recorded was 40 percent higher, at 689.7 tons. Likewise, the Ministry\u2019s document reports 4,032.3 tons of frozen shark exports, while the BKIPM data shows 4,785 tons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as uncertainty about shark and ray quantities traded, there are also concerns that species that should be regulated are being traded illicitly. In a 2022 report<\/a>, the Germany-based non-profit organization TRAFFIC said: \u201cThe CITES\u2019 technical committee has raised concerns that trade data reported by Parties does not match expert expectations and that international trade in CITES-listed sharks may be going undetected and unreported.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report said that \u201cIndonesia provides a clear example of a potential trade in shark catch being undetected\u201d. According to Traffic, this is especially likely when fins have been cut from protected species, such as the CITES-listed silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis<\/em>), at sea and mixed with fins of non-protected species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarminto Hadi, the Coordinator of Utilization of Fish Areas and Species at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, acknowledges that although Indonesia has laws intended to suppress illegal trade, shark trafficking remains rampant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Yes, we still have homework,” Hadi said. He believes that the transfer of authority over management of protected fish species to his ministry from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, in 2020, will improve the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hadi underlined one problem: not all holders of a Fish Type Utilization Permit (SIPJI) have ships, so they must establish partnerships with fishermen or ship owners. But some shark fishing vessels or fishermen have not been registered, because shark fishing vessel registration provisions were only implemented in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More challenges arise, according to Darmono from FRCI, because few actors in the supply chain have the relevant permits. A national catch quota system is implemented, which is divided among Indonesian provinces before being distributed among businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The number of quotas in each province and those obtained by business actors is not the same,” he explained. The problem is that not all collectors or quota-holding business actors have goods to sell. At the same time, there are business actors who have goods but do not have a license or quota. <\/p>\n\n\n

\"A.
<\/span>A. Asnawi\/Mongabay Indonesia<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Giant guitarfish and white-spotted wedgefish of various sizes neatly lined up at Tasikagung Port, Rembang Regency, Central Java, March 4, 2023.<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Evading detection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hadi said lawbreakers \u2013 who use various methods to evade regulations \u2013 often play cat-and-mouse with the Indonesian authorities. This includes illegally cutting shark fins at sea and smuggling them ashore. It also includes failing to report catches and mixing products from protected and non-protected species to take advantage of officials’ weakness in identifying species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If it’s like this, officers will be troubled too. It is impossible for all products sent to be checked one by one, because our human resources are very limited. And it will definitely take time,” he explained. This is why registration of ships and fishermen is very critical to ensure product legality, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One common practice is to use an \u2018under name\u2019 and falsely present fins as belonging to a company that possesses SIPJI and SAJI permits. Perpetrators call this ‘borrowing the flag’. The head of the Denpasar Coastal and Marine Resources Management Center (BPSPL) for the East Java Region, Suwardi Purboyo, said this practice is a natural consequence of limited capacities, as \u201csome of the actors at the lower level are not very proficient at technology”.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"A.
<\/span>A. Asnawi\/Mongabay Indonesia<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A pile of fins from CITES-regulated sharks are ready for sale at PT Jaya Dina Buana's warehouse in Surabaya, 10 April 2023.<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

This is one of the practices used by PT Jaya Dina Buana<\/a>, whose office is in the Osowilangun warehouse complex in Surabaya, East Java. Employees said the company uses a large network of under-name companies to run its business. When Mongabay Indonesia posed as a shark fin buyer, this company also offered its assistance with shipping. This included taking care of documents from the quarantine center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The fee is easy, it can be arranged later,” explained an employee called Hendrik. The company claims to have ‘insiders’ who are used to ‘playing’ in the shark fin trade. It doesn’t even need to mix protected and non-protected fins to trick officers. “They are packed according to their type, no need to mix them,\u201d said Hendrik. \u201cWe have people at the quarantine center who usually help.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way traffickers escape detection is by using \u2018forwarder\u2019 services provided by companies that ship products abroad. Ardiyansah, who buys stingray skin to make handicrafts in Rembang District, Central Java, sends 200-300 pieces to China using a forwarder service almost once a month. This practice further complicates trade monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increasing protection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

M. Mukhlis Kamal, a shark and ray researcher from Institut Pertanian Bogor University, said that Indonesia’s vast territory enables illegal shark trade. The situation is exacerbated by the inadequate number of supervisors. “Some of them may also be corrupt,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamongan Marine and Fisheries Resources Supervisory staff, Susanto dismissed accusations of weak supervision. According to him, four personnel perform routine and incidental inspections. Routine supervision, he said, is done in license holders’ warehouses. “This is done to check stock conditions and traceability,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these inspections are not without warning. Before they happen, the person concerned receives a letter about the planned inspection. “Meanwhile, incidental checks are only carried out when public reports are received,” he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"A.
<\/span>A. Asnawi\/Mongabay Indonesia<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Piles of rays measuring an average of two meters ready to be transported to a storage warehouse at the Tasikagung Port complex, Rembang District, Central Java, March 4, 2023.<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

In practice, as observed in several ports Mongabay Indonesia visited, sharks and rays are freely sold. This is even done by traders without SIPJI or SAJI permits, or a letter of recommendation for lookalike species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamal urged the government, especially the Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance under the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, to improve supervision. He also said the government should increase protection for sharks and rays, as only ten of Indonesia\u2019s more than 200 species have received protected status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Don’t be misled into thinking there are still many ray sharks,\u201d he said. \u201cIt turns out there are some that are already endangered.\u201d Kamal pointed out that sharks are big business. With prices reaching millions of rupiah per kilogram, the total value is estimated to reach trillions annually. “And if we are not serious,\u201d he said, \u201cthey will eventually become extinct too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
A. Asnawi produced this story with a grant from EJN\u2019s Biodiversity Media Initiative. This seond part of a two-part series was first published in Bahasa Indonesia by Mongabay Indonesia<\/a> on 15 July 2023 and has been lightly edited for length and clarity. The Biodiversity Media Initiative is supported by Arcadia \u2014 a charitable fund of Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing.<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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