CSI: Shark Fins—Genetic Test
Reveals Illegal International Trade in Great White Shark Fins
Pew Institute for
Ocean Science
Law enforcement agents are using a genetic test — similar
to those used by investigators in popular television programs
— to identify fins and other products from the highly
protected Great White Shark, according to an article published
in the journal Conservation Genetics.
Resembling the story line of a prime time plot, in late 2003
agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
confiscated approximately 1 ton of dried shark fins intended
for export to Asian markets from a U.S. East Coast seafood
dealer. One of the confiscated sacks was labeled “porbeagle,”
a close cousin of the Great White Shark, but a label concealed
inside read “blanco,” which is Spanish for
“white.”
With the help of the agents, scientists from the Guy Harvey
Research Institute (GHRI) at Nova Southeastern University
(NSU) in Florida, took small samples from each of the 21 sets
of fins for DNA analysis using a novel, rapid method utilizing
both nuclear and mitochondrial markers.
“All 21 suspect fins yielded the unambiguous, white
shark diagnostic pair of DNA amplicons, a type of DNA fingerprint
confirming the origin of the species,” says Mahmood
Shivji, Ph.D., principal study author and director of the
Guy Harvey Research Institute.
Using the forensic assay they developed earlier, Professor
Shivji and his graduate students have found white shark species-specific
primers that generate a distinctive pair of amplicons, which
are unique to white sharks, in their small lab at the mouth
of busy Port Everglades just south of Fort Lauderdale.
“Dr. Shivji and his graduate students have been very
helpful to us in more than a dozen cases,” says Paul
Raymond, special agent with the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement.
“Shark species identification is one of the hardest
things to deal with in terms of fins and shark meat.”
Agent Raymond is not able to provide further details on the
pending case, as it has not yet gone to trial. The penalty
for possessing or selling prohibited shark species includes
fines up to $100,000.
The Great White Shark, a long-time protected species in the
United States, was listed last year in the Appendix II of
the Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species
(CITES), helping to ensure that international trade does not
compromise or harm wild populations.
“The existence of this DNA test is one of the key
reasons that the Great White Shark received international
protection under CITES,” says Ellen Pikitch, Ph.D.,
executive director of the University of Miami’s Pew Institute
for Ocean Science (PIOS) and a co-author of the study. “The
discovery of multiple fin sets from this high-profile, species
found through application of the DNA test demonstrates that
surreptitious exploitation of protected sharks is occurring
in the U.S. Atlantic - a region with among the most extensive
shark fishing regulations in the world.”
As apex predators, Great White Sharks are naturally rare.
And because they are slow to mature and produce few young,
sharks are exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing and slow
to recover from depletion. The female Great White Shark matures
at age 12 and produces an average of 5 young at a time. Highly
prized shark parts are traded internationally — a set
of jaws may sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Shark fins
are a delicacy among certain Asian populations, as a bowl
of its clear broth may fetch $150.
“The discovery of so many smaller shark fins from
a highly protected species in the possession of a single trader
indicates that there may be a specialized market for white
shark fins not only as trophies but also as food, putting
additional pressure on the species,” says Professor
Shivji. “By applying DNA techniques to track the species
of origin of shark fins in the market, we can put ‘teeth’
into enforcement of fishing regulations and finally begin
to assess the impacts that trade poses to the health of shark
populations. In turn, this knowledge will help in conservation
planning and fisheries management for white sharks and other
declining shark species.”
About the Guy Harvey Research Institute
The Guy Harvey Research Institute is a scientific research
organization based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at the Oceanographic
Center of Nova Southeastern University, minutes from coral
reefs and popular fishing grounds. GHRI was established in
1999 as a collaboration between the renowned marine artist
Dr. Guy Harvey and NSU’s Oceanographic Center to assume
a leadership role in providing the scientific information
necessary to understand and save the world’s fish resources
and biodiversity from drastic, ongoing declines. GHRI is one
of only a handful of private organizations dedicated exclusively
to expanding the scientific knowledge base needed for effective
conservation of fish populations and maintenance of fish biodiversity.
For more information, visit www.nova.edu/ocean/ghri.
About the Pew Charitable Trusts
In 2003, the Pew Charitable Trusts partnered with the University
of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
to provide a generous, multi-year grant and founded the Pew
Institute for Ocean Science - which undertakes, sponsors and
promotes world-class scientific activity aimed at protecting
the world's oceans and the species that inhabit them. The
scientific role of the institute is to increase public understanding
of the causes and the consequences of problems affecting the
marine environment. The conservation role is to promote solutions
to these problems.
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