People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an international NGO, has claimed that a port in Kerala was selling sharks, whose sale is banned in India.
“A government-owned port in Kochi bans the visitors with camera inside. We did an undercover operation through spy cam and found out that sharks were being sold there,” senior campaign coordinator Nikunj Sharma said. A 10-minute video shows sharks tortured to death and bred in unhygienic conditions.
Quoting a survey of 1999 to 2000, he said 591 sharks were killed for their meat as well for liver oil in India. The NGO has also expressed its grave concern over the overexploitation of the depleting fish resources.
Port denies charge
Staff Reporter writes from Kochi:
A spokesman for the Cochin Port Trust said there was no substance in the allegation that sharks were being killed and sold by the port authorities.
He said the Thoppumpady Fisheries Harbour fell within the port area but the Port Trust had no supervisory powers over it.
