Equipping southwest Indian Ocean countries to combat illegal shark trade
Key Facts
FUNDING SCHEME Main
VALUE £579,920
WHERE Tanzania, Mozambique
Summary
Illegal trade in shark products occurs throughout East Africa, but government capacity to enforce trade controls is inadequate. The project aims to improve government capacity in Mozambique and Tanzania for monitoring trade in shark and ray products and enforcing trade controls. Key activities will include training of government staff for visual and molecular (genetic) identification of traded shark species, implementing improved resources for identification and monitoring, improving knowledge on trade and fisheries, and support to governments for policy improvement.
Mozambican National Oceanographic Institute (InOM), former National Fisheries Research Institute of Mozambique (Instituto Nacional de Investigação Pesqueira), Deep Sea Fishing Authority, Dr Rima Jabado, Dr Demian Chapman, Mote Marine Laboratories, Stellenbosch University
Over 600 arrests and more than 500 convictions in wildlife crime since 2017, alongside a decline in ivory trafficking cases and an increase in elephant and rhino populations.
