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  WildAsia 8 Nov 05
A Shark's Fin Tale: Poaching in Paradise
contributed by Helen Brunt

Nothing gives a diver an adrenalin rush like a wall dive in a strong current. I was gliding along at 40m with schooling barracuda all around me, trying to hold my camera steady.

Glancing down I spotted a shark below me, out in the blue - I thought maybe a Silver Tip, a grey shimmer swimming effortlessly against the current I was finding so hard to fight. Creeping slowly up the wall and out of the force of the current, I reached a place of calmness, the corals glistening and marine life dancing. Out of the current I had time to adjust my camera to focus on the variety of exquisite macro life perched on, under and in the rocks and corals of the reef shallows.

But then something in the distance caught my eye, glowing white in the mid-morning equatorial sun. I was curious so I swam over to take a closer look and I could not believe my eyes.

It was a sight of horror which shattered the tranquil atmosphere. The distinctive mouth was instantly recognisable; it was the body of a shark, belly-up but without its fins. My eyes were drawn forwards, for not 10 metres further along the reef, bodies of sharks lay draped over the reef, strewn everywhere as if sleeping or sun-bathing.

A dozen sharks some 2 metres in length, de-finned, lying on top of one another piled up under the sun, discarded, worthless and of no value once their fins have been taken.

full report on www.wildasia.net
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