The worrisome process can be observed almost every day from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. in a traditional market in the city of Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Province, where hundreds of sharks are “shaked” frequently. The running of the cutting activities takes place right on the worn-out floor of the market in a very gloomy ambiance. This whole division of the meat from the fin is an important detail since both of the body parts carry different market values for buyers.

This age-old practice, known to few, involves catching, drying, and exporting shark fins to Asian countries, notably Hong Kong, Singapore, and China. Even the shark meat is sold locally, put into soups, and sometimes even made into fish balls, leaving a price tag of IDR 35,000 per kilogram. The consumers are spread all across the city of Pangkalpinang, going beyond the borders of Bangka Belitung Province.

The price determination of shark fins is under the authority of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia. The fins that are 15 to 20 cm long can be priced at 35,000 Indonesian rupiahs per kilogram, incrementally increasing—around 250,000 for each 5 cm in length. The highest one is for the most elongated shark, with 40 cm, or around 1,400,000 rupiahs per kilogram.

However, the environmental importance of this fact is high, for sharks are the marine apex predators. Globally, sharks have significantly declined—to 90%—due to overfishing, intended or not. Contributing to such a decline is the world-leading country in relation to both the capture and supply of sharks—Indonesia, showing averages of 12.31% of world production.

For instance, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recorded a high amount in tons of both shark and ray products originating from Indonesia in 2011: 103,245 per year versus 91,247 per year in 2008. The depletion of these sharks’ population in the wild and the foraging of other species such as guitar stingrays have been identified as part of the list of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix II, making it urgent for conservation matters to be raised as an immediate save to ensure this depletion does not extend further towards deserting the aquatic system of these marine species.

As the shark-cutting activities progress, they are a reminder that the line is thin between economic pursuit and environmental preservation—a call for sustainable practices and conservation efforts in the interest of the health of the oceans and their species.