Australia's Queensland investigates shark net contractor for illegal haul of fins, jaws

A contractor employed by the Australian Queensland state government to help remove trap animals from shark nets is now being investigated by authorities for the illegal possession of the predator's fins and jaws instead.

Fisheries Queensland said that investigations on the matter were ongoing with no charges being laid so far, local media reported on Wednesday.

The contractor was originally employed by the state government to remove sharks, turtles, fish and mammals from shark nets and drum lines before releasing them into the seawaters if they are alive, or dumping them out off sea if they were dead.

The man is one of the four contractors who were being questioned on the illegal haul.

Shark fins can be worth up to 100 Australian dollars (76.21 U.S. dollars) each on the black market.

A Fisheries Queensland spokesperson said strict rules were in place to discourage the targeting of sharks for their fins alone.

"The practice of finning sharks and dumping their bodies at sea is illegal in Queensland and severe court penalties in excess of 100 million Australian dollars (76,208 million U.S. dollars) can be imposed," the spokesperson said.

Sea Shepherd spokeswoman Natalie Banks said she believed some of Queensland's shark contractors had been finning for some time.

"We're shocked but I guess we're not surprised," she said.

"When you're getting prices that range between hundreds of dollars for a shark fin, it obviously is an enticement for anybody to do trading illegally or on the black market."

Banks said Fisheries Queensland should review the role of their contractors especially on how they maintained the shark nets and what they did with the predators when they were found alive. Enditem