Alarming rise in Shark meat consumption in India, posing threat to species: Study

A new study titled “Regional hotspots and drivers of shark meat consumption in India” reveals that over a third of shark and ray species are at risk of global extinction, largely due to overfishing driven by human consumption.

In India, which has the world’s third highest catch of these species, local consumption of their meat is on the rise, particularly in the southern regions. The study surveyed 2,649 seafood restaurants across 10 coastal states and found that two states alone accounted for 70% of all restaurants serving shark meat.

Restaurants in India sell around 251.6 tonnes of this meat every year, which is equivalent to 9.8% of India’s annual landings. Local cultural preferences and regional cuisines drive the demand, with states like Goa witnessing emerging new consumption trends.

In Goa, the state with the most restaurants serving shark meat, both locals and tourists consuming “baby sharks” are driving the demand. This puts small-bodied and juvenile sharks of threatened species at risk.

The study suggests that we can achieve the reduction of shark meat consumption by targeting interventions in areas of maximum consumption, substitifying other types of seafood in regional cuisines, reducing bycatch, increasing prices, and running seafood consumer awareness campaigns.

Preliminary findings suggest that focusing on the health risks of eating species that accumulate heavy metals could lead to the biggest reductions in shark meat sales at India’s restaurants.

Study: Elasmobranch threat, consumption, and conservation

As per the study, there’s a serious concern about the threat to elasmobranch species in India. Over 80% of these species are in the threatened categories of the IUCN. The local consumption of their meat is a big risk, especially for small species and young large ones. This could affect the number of large species reaching the age to reproduce, making their numbers decline even more.

The study found that tourists, particularly foreign ones, and the middle to upper class among local consumers are the emerging consumer groups for elasmobranch meat. People eat elasmobranch for various reasons, from its association with coastal cuisines to the influence of foreign tourism. One immediate solution proposed is a voluntary program for restaurants to stop serving shark. Restaurant owners, who are more worried about the toxicity of heavy metals than ecological or sustainability issues, could learn more about the health risks of eating sharks. This could be particularly useful for the new consumer groups.

In developed countries, certifications or labels for sustainably sourced seafood are common. These could regulate elasmobranch consumption in India’s restaurants if consumers are willing to pay more for sustainably sourced meat. But this would need better supply chain tracking, as well as more awareness and positive attitudes among consumers, which are currently lacking in India. More research is needed to fill these data gaps and assess the feasibility of conservation measures in developing countries like India.

The research implies that understanding why we consume elasmobranch, including economic factors, is vital for curating interventions to alter consumer behavior. Reducing its demand from low-income groups could be difficult due to its affordability. However, policies or taxes on sales, provided sustainable and affordable protein sources are available, may be effective.

Coastal restaurants serving seafood, elasmobranch meat

The study identified 2,649 seafood restaurants across 10 coastal regions in India, all of which had online menus. Out of these, 292 restaurants listed shark meat on their menus.

Goa had the highest number of restaurants selling shark and ray meat (35.8%), followed by Tamil Nadu (34.6%) and Maharashtra (4.6%). Together, Goa and Tamil Nadu accounted for 70% of all restaurants in India serving shark meat.

Every year, about 251.6 tonnes of shark meat, equivalent to around 83,866 sharks each weighing 3 kg, are sold in India’s restaurants. This amount represents 9.8% of India’s annual catch of sharks and rays, known as ‘elasmobranch landings’.

Study interviewed restaurants serving elasmobranch

The study categorized restaurants serving elasmobranch in each city based on their price range. In each category, they randomly selected three restaurants for interviews using R (RStudio Team, 2020). If a category contained fewer than three restaurants, they interviewed all of them.

In Goa, the researchers interviewed up to 12 restaurants per price category due to the higher number of restaurants serving elasmobranch meat. These restaurants distributed themselves throughout the state, not just confined to cities.

Furthermore, restaurants in Goa were also classified into zones based on the level of tourism—High Tourism (>20,000 tourists per month), Medium Tourism (10,000–20,000 tourists per month), and Low Tourism (<10,000 tourists per month). This data was sourced from the Department of Tourism (Government of Goa, 2019).

According to the study, 35% of the interviewees in Goa ranked shark meat among the top six best-selling dishes, while 23% considered it unpopular. 42% of the respondents viewed shark dishes as profitable, but 29% considered them unprofitable. They explained that profitability depends on factors such as availability and price.

A majority (79%) of the respondents preferred whole sharks over fillets or pieces. Researchers identified the Madgaon fish market (31%), Panjim Jetty (29%), and smaller local markets (22%) as the main source markets for elasmobranch in Goa. They sourced a small percentage (6%) of elasmobranchs from markets in other states, including Karwar in Karnataka and Kollangodu in Kerala.

Interestingly, 32% of the respondents observed no changes in the size, abundance, consumption, or price of elasmobranchs over time. However, some respondents reported increased prices (18%), reduced quantity (17%), and reduced demand (6%) for elasmobranch meat over the past decade.

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