Study: Sharks Worth More in Tourism Waters Than in Asian Soups

A new study on marine market trends suggests sharks swimming free in the oceans will soon generate more in tourism revenues than sharks caught and served up in soup.

The research, led by author Andres Cisneros-Montemayor from the University of British Columbia in Canada, noted shark-watching tourism currently generates about $314 million a year and is projected to surge to $780 million in the next 20 years, while the landed value of world shark fisheries is now $630 million a year and declining, according to data from Canada, the United States and Mexico, Reuters reported.

Tourism draws almost 600,000 people annually to watch various types of sharks, supporting 10,000 jobs in 29 countries, the research indicated.

The study urged greater shark protections from Australia to the Caribbean, to reduce the estimated 38 million a year caught to meet demand for shark fin soup, primarily in China.

"We are hoping that people will recognize that sharks are not only valuable on the plate," Cisneros-Montemayor was quoted saying in a Reuters report.

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

The nations of Palau, the Maldives, Honduras, Tokelau, the Bahamas, the Marshall Islands, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia and New Caledonia have created sanctuaries in recent years by banning commercial shark fishing.

"Many countries have a significant financial incentive to conserve sharks and the places where they live," Jill Hepp, director of global shark conservation at the Pew Charitable Trusts which took part in the study, was also quoted saying by Reuters.

Pew has taken a public stand in favor of more sanctuaries, the Reuters report said.

The study, said scientists, was one of several geared toward exploring methods for supporting the health of the world's fisheries, which are suffering from environmental pollution, destructive climatic shifts and over-fishing.

Conservationists would stand a better chance of gaining the support of operations that catch sharks if they could directly see greater profits from organizing tourism services, like running boat trips to view sharks or renting out scuba gear to those who want to join the marine fray themselves, suggested Carl Gustaf Lundin, director of the global marine program at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which was not involved in the study.

After all, the study said, the popularity --- and cultural importance --- of shark's fin soup in Asia remains one of the greatest perceptual challenges for Asian lovers of the stringy soup, who are generally unlikely to abandon the dish in favor of the aesthetics of ocean tourism, which has so far mainly been the domain of Westerners.