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FAO recommends new software capable of helping protect endangered shark species

Xinhua, February 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday said that a handy new digital technique called iSharkFin could help protect endangered shark species and combat illegal trade in shark fins.

"The new software allows for the quick identification of species of the iconic fish," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "It is a tool for custom officers and inspectors at fish markets as well as for fishermen keen on avoiding the capture of protected species."

Work on the project began in 2013, after five shark species were added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the spokesman said.

The software, called iSharkFin, allows people without formal taxonomic training to identify different species of shark by uploading photographs. The user then chooses several key points of the fin shape along with identifying a few other characteristics, and an algorithm compares the information with iSharkFin's memory bank and identifies the shark species.

Many of those species are the ones most frequently traded internationally and use of the software may allow authorities to crack a long-running mystery over the actual magnitude of global shark fishing.

Currently, estimates of the number of sharks killed each year vary enormously, with one study suggesting the annual figure could be above 73 million, or more than 6 percent of the total stock. If true, that would exceed the rate considered sustainable, as sharks take a long time to mature and produce few offspring. The number would also be four times higher than the FAO's estimates, which are based on official production statistics.

The gap in estimates is often blamed on "shark finning," a practice involving slashing off a shark's fins and dumping the animal back into the sea. Many nations have declared shark finning illegal and insist that shark fins may be traded only if the whole carcass is brought to shore.

The challenges of effective management in high seas areas, including responsible fishing and conservation of species at risk, are being discussed this week at a high-level workshop at FAO. Endite