FISHERIES — SHARK FIN
647. Hon RICK MAZZA to the minister representing the
Minister for Fisheries:
I refer to moves to ban the sale of
food containing shark fin, with possible fines rising to $250 000, and the
Australian practice of using the whole fish upon catching.
(1) How many sharks are estimated to
be processed annually in Western Australia?
(2) How many kilograms of shark fins
were exported from WA in the past five years?
(3) What is the estimated economic
value of the shark industry to the state?
(4) How many kilos of fin will be
wasted if only the trunk can be processed?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I
thank the member for the question. The following information has been provided
to me by the Minister for Fisheries.
For clarity, the proposal the member
refers to has been put forward by the Greens WA, not by the government.
(1) Approximately 936 tonnes of
shark were taken in 2016–17.
(2) Information
regarding the export of fish products sourced from Western Australian fisheries
is not maintained by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional
Development. This is a matter best addressed to the commonwealth government.
(3) I am not aware of any study into
the economic value of the shark industry to the state.
(4) I am unable
to speculate on the implications of the Greens WA proposal were it to ever be
implemented.