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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Journal of Fish Biology<BR>Volume 73 Issue 10,
Pages 2293 - 2304<BR>Published Online: 16 Dec 2008</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>DOI 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2008.02016.x <BR><BR><FONT
size=4>Characterization of the pelagic shark-fin trade in north-central Chile by
genetic identification and trader surveys</FONT><BR>H. Sebastian*, P. A. Haye †§
phaye@ucn.cl M. S. Shivji‡ <BR> * Departamento de Biología Marina,
Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte. Larrondo 1281
-Casilla 117, Tel.: +56 51 209904; fax: +56 51 209812; Coquimbo, Chile
, † Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Coquimbo,
Chile and ‡ Guy Harvey Research Institute and Save Our Seas Shark
Conservation Consortium, Oceanographic Center, Nova Southeastern University,
8000 North Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, Fl 33004,
U.S.A. <BR><BR>ABSTRACT<BR>Shark fins have become a highly valued commodity
with the major Asian fin-trade centres supplied from global sources, including
Chile. With growing concerns about the resilience of shark populations to heavy
fishing pressure, there is a need for better information on shark landings to
aid management efforts. In the widespread absence of shark landing records
especially by species, monitoring the fin trade has been proposed as a way to
assess species exploitation levels. Here, the first species assessment of the
Chilean shark-fin trade was provided. The goals of this study were to (1)
determine the species composition and relative species proportion of sharks
utilized in the fin trade, (2) determine the relationship between fin trader
market names and species and (3) assess trader accuracy in identifying shark fin
species based on fin photographs. Fins were analysed from two different fin
drying facilities (n = 654) (secaderos) and two fin-storage warehouses (n =
251). In contrast to official government landing records that only document four
species in the landings, molecular species identification of the fins
demonstrated that at least 10 pelagic shark species are present in the
north-central Chilean shark fin trade: Alopias superciliosus, Alopias vulpinus,
Carcharhinus obscurus, Galeorhinus galeus, Isurus oxyrinchus, Isurus paucus,
Lamna nasus, Prionace glauca, Sphyrna lewini, Sphyrna zygaena. The species
composition of the fins from the secaderos was P. glauca (83·9%), I. oxyrinchus
(13·6%), L. nasus (1·7%) and A. superciliosus (0·2%). There was generally good
agreement between market names and single shark species for the trade categories
'Azulejo', 'Tiburon', 'Tintorera', 'Cola de zorro' and 'Martillo'. In contrast,
the market category 'Carcharhinus' consisted of a mixture of at least five
species. The molecular results also identified two species (S. lewini and I.
paucus) not previously recorded in Chilean waters. The fin identification survey
given to nine regional traders demonstrated that they were highly accurate in
recognizing pictures of fins from P. glauca and I. oxyrinchus. The overall
strong concordance between market categories and fins from single species and
the trader accuracy in survey fin identification suggests that monitoring the
Chilean fin trade by market names will provide a reasonably accurate picture of
the volume of sharks landed by species.<BR><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>