Indonesia seizes 3,000 shark fins destined for Hong Kong despite being on protected species list

Indonesian authorities have seized about 3,000 shark fins that were about to be flown to Hong Kong, an official said on Wednesday, a rare success in the battle against the illegal trade.

The fins from the oceanic whitetip shark, a species protected in Indonesia and banned from export, were seized last week at the international airport that serves the capital Jakarta, government official Rusnanto, who goes by one name, said.

“The fins came from around 3,000 oceanic whitetip sharks which were caught in the waters around Java island,” said the official who works for an agency that deals with fish, referring to Indonesia’s main island.

He said the haul was worth one billion rupiah (HK$562,000) in Indonesia but would fetch several times that amount in Hong Kong, where shark fins are considered a delicacy.

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Officials found the fins in boxes that were due to be exported, he said. The export company was being investigated, he added, without giving the name.