Update on Porbeagle Shark sold in Netherlands
Helmut Nickel, Shark Year Magazine, 10. October 2011The auction of a porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) in the Dutch city of Scheveningen last August (see here) has lead to an outcry from several European conservation groups.
Here is an update on the situation:
Binnenland Nieuws is reporting that the porbeagle shark had been caught by a British fisherman and then the shark found its way on the Dutch market.
The Secretary of Agriculture Henk Bleker said that nobody recognized the specimen as an endangered porbeagle. There was not even an authorized inspector present on that day.
The Dutch Food Safety Authority (nVWA) has forwarded all information to their colleagues in England.
Now it’s upon the British authorities if they want to prosecute against the fisherman. But apparently there aren’t any intentions to launch legal actions against the fishmonger in the Netherlands.
The Dutch Parliament has already dealt with this incident.
Below is a link to download the related PDF-file in Dutch language.
Note: In this PDF, the scientific name of the porbeagle shark is misspelled as ‘Lamnus nassa’.
07.October 2011 Answers by Secretary of State Bleker (EL&I) to questions by MP Jacobi (PvdA) over the capture and sale of an endangered shark species. Antwoorden van staatssecretaris Bleker (EL&I) op vragen van Kamerlid Jacobi (PvdA) over de vangst en het aanbieden van een bedreigde haaiensoort.
Source: nieuws.nl