Tuesday May 12, 2009, 1:55 am
Sea Shepherd Brazil, Institute Environmental Justice (Insitutot Justiça Ambiental), and the South Coast Institute (Instituto Litoral Sul) filed on Thursday, May 7th, a public civil action in the Federal Court of Rio Grande, Brazil. The NGO's mobilization began on June 19th, 2008, when the Environmental Police of the Military Brigade and IBAMA raided the fishing company Dom Matos Comércio de Pescados e Resíduos Ltda, and found 3.3 tons of shark fins. IBAMA is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's enforcement agency. The shark fins belonged to species threatened of extinction, including angel sharks. For the amount of fins found, it was estimated that over 36 thousand sharks had been killed.

IBAMA's regulations determines that it is prohibited to reject the carcasses of sharks to the sea after removing its fins, and it also forces all shipments to be weighted and documented with IBAMA when fishing vessels return to port.

"It is a coherent and important regulation that seeks to avoid the uncontrolled capture of sharks. The regulation was ignored, since only shark fins were found at the premises without any carcass," explains Cristiano Pacheco, executive director for Institute Environmental Justice. "We have enough elements for an exemplary pecuniary condemnation."

A technical analysis was presented by biologist Ricardo Clapis Garla, doctor in Biological Sciences and specialist in elasmobrânquios (Sharks) of the Federal University of Rig Grande do Norte, which leaves clear the gravity of the situation of these animals and of their involvement in ecosystems.

"Scientific studies show that the removal of sharks can cause unexpected and devastating impacts, whose effects rebound in food chain in several levels of marine ecosystems," warned Garla.


The shark fin industry has ramifications in almost all the coastal countries of the world, including the Galápagos Islands, which is today perhaps the 'Latin capital' of the shark finning industry. In Brazil there are ramifications from Pará to Rio Grande do Sul.

"The lack of appropriate government monitoring and of predatory fishing practices in Rio Grande do Sul allows these practices, which is an attempt against all marine biodiversity," comments Sebastián Diano, president of the South Coast Institute.

Alerted to the environmental damage being caused by the insatiable exploration for ever-greater profits and blatant disregard to the law, Sea Shepherd Brazil received privileged information regarding the shark fin black market. The owner of Dom Matos Ltda. in Rio Grande is in fact a representative of another company headquartered in Sao Paulo and has had numerous other companies under his name. The objective of such tactics is to confuse law enforcement agencies by opening and closing new businesses as a facade.

"We are the Robin Hood of the seas, as the character created by William Langland, who stole from the rich to give to the poor; we seek to retake from those that have stolen the ocean riches and give back to our brothers of the sea, which hold the same rights by law as the Brazilian citizens," said Daniel Vairo, general director of Sea Shepherd in Brazil.

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 3:22 am
the sharks are one of the oldest things in the ocean they need our protection now . is'nt it awful ?they now need protection from us .thanks claudia

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 3:43 am
Thankyou Claudia, sad bout thr poor sharks left to die...and good on Captain Paul Watson and Daniel Vairo for their hard work in saving them...i know SSCS has been onto these shark finners now for years...

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 4:47 am
These huge sharks killed for the small fin and a huge bank balance, sounds exactly like behaviour of humans.

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 5:34 am
horrible picture, horriblt thing to do, the greed is out of control

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 7:49 am
These people dont care about ecosystems,they just live for the moment and what they can get moneywise,uncaring and have no respect for marine life.

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 8:20 am
It's past disgusting when people care more for the acquirement of money than for the care of animals.

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 8:44 am
Money again instead of life, what a example to our children, it upsets me so much to look at that picture. Thank you Claudia for bringing this to our attention. Maybe if we all stick together we CAN make a difference to our world.

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 9:22 am
PROTECT OUR SHARKS LIKE YOU WOULD OUR WHALES AND ANY OF THE SEA CREATURES. FOR GOODNESS SAKE, SUCH GREED!!! MAKES ME ILL!
TX CHER

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 9:57 am
This is another example of an irrational resource's waste. Even if people eating shark's fin are not vegetarian, even if they are not sensible to respect wildlife... cannot they think about the incredible waste that implies killing a shark for its fins??? They must not been able to think.

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 9:59 am
I really like sharks. They are nessesary to the eco-system they have a purpose here like all living things. Money and greed once again killing everything. It makes me sick. Thanks, Claudia

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 11:08 am
igi glad that that doing that we have to protect them also noted

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 4:00 pm
Geese, what the heck has this world become!?

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 4:27 pm
For the love of money is as old as the sharks, there will be no ecosystem if something isn't done to stop shark finning! sadly noted Claudia

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 5:10 pm
Brazil are a beautiful country wiht a enourmous biodiversity! But have a big big problem! It´s very difficult prove and judge in Brazil big companys or big, important and rich people! It´s very sad see this things!

Tuesday May 12, 2009, 9:33 pm
I actually had no idea about this brutal practice until there was a report on TV a couple of months ago ... after a few seconds I had to turn it off as it was too graphic and unsettling. But right then and there a vowed to spead out against this and maybe this is the first step!
How can Human Beings be such gluttons and so obsessed with satisfying having to eat something that is harvested in such brutal and totally unacceptable way ... simply disgusting!

Wednesday May 13, 2009, 12:40 am
Noted with sadness & utter disgust! I hope the owner of the company gets taken out to sea and dropped in a pod of sharks, preferably large white ones!

Wednesday May 13, 2009, 4:21 am
I agree with Elainna sentiments. It is just not a fair playing field. I say to those who hunt & kill sharks why do you not get into the ocean and face them? Give them a chance to kill you too ? Is there nothing sacred from the killing fields that humans create. The killing of so many marine animals.

Wednesday May 13, 2009, 1:41 pm
Why people kill any animals is disgusting. People just have the urge to kill especially if they make money off it.

Wednesday May 13, 2009, 4:57 pm
Thank you Claudia!

Wednesday May 13, 2009, 11:40 pm
3.3 tons of shark fins, meaning over 36 thousand sharks being killed for 'only' their fin and that only at one place where they found them... these animals are doomed for extinction if this doesn't stop immediatly ! People who eat sharkfin soup should be warned of the damage they do just by ordering it ! Sadly noted Claudia and thank God there is Sea Shepherd !

Thursday May 14, 2009, 6:29 pm
Sicking money will buy you almost anything but this shark finning and killing the sharks has to stop. They are not as bad as everyone lets on they do not kill people all the time, they get confused for they hear thrashing and think its a fish and bite for they do not see well at all. If you want to be safe in the ocean watch for dophins then you are safe. If they don't stop killing them they will all be gone how sad would that be.

Sunday May 24, 2009, 1:24 am
ALL animal life is important, they all have a ob to do and should be preserved, no matter how dangerous.
The gov will never stop this unless ALL people demand it. There is just too much killing to extinct of our precious wildlife these days, it is almost as if there were people who want the disaster.