Kiribati, a small Pacific island nation near Hawaii that has deepened its relationship with Beijing, detained a Chinese fishing vessel in August after it was allegedly found carrying shark fins in violation of its licence conditions, the country’s maritime police told AFP.
The removal of fins from live sharks before their bodies are discarded into the ocean is prohibited across much of the Pacific, although the practice continues because of sustained demand for shark fins in parts of East and Southeast Asia.
The Chinese vessel was one of four boats detained during a regional maritime surveillance operation involving 11 Pacific island nations between August 3 and 14. The operation received support from the US Coast Guard in some areas, as well as an Australian military aircraft. Kiribati conducted its own patrol operations using its national patrol boat.
Although the vessel had authorisation to operate in Kiribati’s waters, maritime police detained it after inspectors discovered shark fins aboard, commander Tom Redfern told AFP.
“It was escorted back to Christmas Island for further investigation,” he said, referring to the large Kiribati atoll situated south of Hawaii.
Kiribati controls an exclusive economic zone covering about 3.5 million square kilometres of ocean, making its waters strategically and commercially significant. Chinese state-owned companies have shown growing interest in the country since Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019.
The Pacific nation also hosts Chinese police personnel, a move that the United States has warned could contribute to growing tensions in the region.
“A Kiribati Police maritime boarding officer, not under a shiprider agreement, boarded and inspected it, finding that the vessel was breaching its condition of licence by keeping and retaining shark fins on board,” said Redfern.
At the same time, Kiribati has expanded security cooperation with France. French military personnel are expected to travel to Christmas Island in September to assist with rebuilding local police stations.
Shark finning is prohibited throughout the Pacific region, with conservationists warning that the practice has contributed significantly to declining shark populations.
Andrew Chin, a fisheries researcher at Australia’s James Cook University, said shark finning had caused “massive declines” in shark numbers, leading Pacific countries to introduce tougher regulations.
“Because it is now illegal, if people are doing it, it is going to be hidden and really hard to detect,” he said.
Studies examining the DNA of thousands of shark fins sold in Hong Kong markets have also traced some of the products back to the Pacific region.
“We have seen evidence of illegal trade from the western and eastern sides of the Pacific,” said Demian Chapman, who carried out the research while serving as director of the Sharks and Rays Conservation Research Program at Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida.
Chapman told AFP that there had been previous instances of Chinese vessels being found in breach of regulations prohibiting shark finning.
He added that declining demand for shark fin soup in China, including a government ban on serving the dish at official functions, had helped reduce the volume of shark fins traded through Hong Kong.
