International shark fin markets and shark management: an integrated market preference–cohort analysis of the blacktip shark ( Carcharhinus limbatus)

Abstract

The increasing demand for shark fins in Asia, and the publicity resulting from finning and discarding live sharks, has generated concern regarding the sustainability of the world's shark populations. These concerns can be attributed to the shark's life history, which is characterized by a pattern of slow growth, late maturity, few offspring, and long life, making populations vulnerable to overexploitation. Once overexploited, shark stocks will be slow to recover due to these constraints. Despite an increase in consumption and trade of shark fins and other shark products, and the vulnerability of shark populations once overexploited, little effort has been expended to understand the biology and economics of sharks and shark fisheries until recently. This study adds to the understanding of linkages between shark product markets, specifically shark fins, and the biology of shark populations by explicitly incorporating multi-attribute market information into bioeconomic modeling. Results from conjoint analysis of the Hong Kong dried, processed end-user markets is incorporated into a blacktip shark ( Carcharhinus limbatus) cohort model to estimate the optimal harvest size and age that maximize economic value. Results show that optimal harvest sizes and ages for all mortality and discount factor scenarios are greater than the maturation sizes and ages for both male and female blacktip. Policy implications for this study are also discussed.