Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Customs agents seize 10 tonnes of shark fins in Manzanillo

Customs agents in Manzanillo, Colima, have confiscated a large haul of illegal shark fins bound for the Philippines.

The fins, about 10.4 tonnes in total, were estimated to have a value of nearly 4 million pesos (US $210,000). They were discovered in 509 crates during an inspection by customs officials and the navy.

The export of shark fins is prohibited in Mexico, but in 2015 it was one of the top 10 countries in which sharks were captured for lucrative ends. Of the world’s 500 shark species, 104 are found in Mexican waters.

Shark fins are considered the most valuable part of the animal and are removed in a process known as shark finning, in which fishermen capture a shark, cut off the animal’s dorsal fin and throw the rest of the still-living creature back into the water, where it bleeds to death.

The fins can fetch as much as US $1,100 per kilogram and are used in a popular Chinese dish called shark fin soup, a symbol of status. The fin was thought to have medicinal properties.

Today, the undiminished popularity of shark fins has led to overfishing.

According to the Smithsonian Institution, close to 100 million sharks are killed by humans every year.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Sinaloa violence

20 killed in gruesome massacre attributed to ‘Los Mayos’ in Culiacán

0
The massacre of 20 people, five of whom were decapitated, is the deadliest single episode of violence of what has widely been described as a "war" between "Los Chapitos" and "Los Mayos."
dancers in traditional costumes

Profits from this year’s Guelaguetza festival to help Oaxaca rebuild from Hurricane Erick

0
Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara announced on Friday that all profits from the Guelaguetza festival, the state’s preeminent Indigenous cultural event, will be used to reconstruct regions destroyed by Hurricane Erick.
Tecate forest fires in Baja California

Conafor reports Tecate blaze is 75% contained after 15 days of wildfire

0
The fire, which has now spread to over 16,000 hectares, started on June 16 in the Guadalajara 2 community of Tecate, a municipality of approximately 100,000.