Kuwait Dive Team (KDT) urged all relevant authorities to tighten control over irresponsible and greedy fishermen who catch sharks to get and then trade in the valuable fins in Gulf markets.

 

"These acts have grave impact on the maritime environment," KDT's External Relations Official Dhari Al-Huwail said Sunday.

 

Al-Huwail pointed out that the team has received a number of complaints from the public about shark finning activities off the coast of Fahaheel.

 

Shark finning refers to the removal and retention of shark fins while the remainder of the living shark is discarded in the ocean. Sharks returned to the ocean without their fins are often still alive; unable to move effectively, they sink to the bottom of the ocean and die of suffocation or are eaten by other predators.

 

"This irresponsible act tantamount to a crime against the environment," Al-Huwail said, adding that shark finning breaches the Kuwait-signed Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

 

Al-Huwail warned that a recent study has showed that world's shark populations are experiencing significant declines with perhaps 100 million -- or more -- sharks being lost every year.

 

Al-Huwail unveiled that the Kuwait Dive Team has organized a number of shark-saving operation in Kuwait territorial water recently.

 

Kuwait Dive Team is a group of dedicated divers and marine life specialists who are working tirelessly and voluntarily to protect the marine environment of Kuwait. They have been awarded many times for their work.