"The shark meat, shark fin, and shark bones were among others exported to Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, United States of America, Peru, and Russia," Jumadi Parluhutan, head of the Empowerment and Conservation Subsection of Directorate General of Sea Spatial Management of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said here on Thursday.
Apart from that, Indonesia exported live sharks particularly to Spain and Abu Dabi, Jumadi explained, without saying the volume of the live sharks export.
In addition, Indonesia sent shark bones to Australia and New Zealand, to be processed into the sweetened condensed milk industry or canned milk.
Indonesia has 117 species of sharks and 97 species of stingrays and based on Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) data, Indonesia is ranked first in the worlds 10 largest shark producing countries.
Nevertheless, export of several species of sharks are prohibited because they are protected by the government.
"Therefore, we ask fishermen and boat owners to avoid catching the protected species for sale," he added.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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