Police investigate illegal shark trading in Fujian

Two suspects accused of illegally hunting and selling a national second-class protected animal were arrested on September 8 in Dongshan county, Fujian province on suspicion of endangering rare and endangered wild animals, local newspaper Minnan Daily reported on Monday.

In mid-July, a video involving the cooking of a shark was posted online by a blogger nicknamed Tizi, in Nanchong, Sichuan province, drew great attention among netizens across the country.

In the video, a two-meter-long shark was cut into pieces and cooked in various methods, including boiling and barbecue.

The video also arouse the attention of local police and they immediately conducted an investigation, finding that the shark was purchased from Dongshan.

After receiving the report from Sichuan police, Dongshan police bureau organized a working team to investigate the crime case.

Investigation results showed that the suspect surnamed Yan, a local fisherman, caught a shark weighing about 75 kilogram on April 10 and then put it into the refrigeration storage in his fishing boat for selling.

The shark was then sold by the other suspect surnamed Shen to a female resident surnamed Jin in Nanchong at the price of 7,700 yuan ($1,097.25).

DNA identification of the fish bones by the South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences showed the shark was a great white shark, a national second-class protected animal.

Both Yan and Shen admitted their criminal behaviours and expressed deep regret.