Updated 08:40 | Published at 08:31
The police in Central American Panama have seized over six tons of shark fins that were about to be smuggled to Asia.
Five suspected smugglers have been arrested, the country’s state prosecutor Javier Caraballo announces at a press conference. According to Caraballo, most of the fins were “already dried and ready for export”.
In Asia, a kilo of shark fin can be worth up to the equivalent of SEK 10,000. The illegal trade that takes place worldwide is estimated to be worth billions.
In East Asia, shark fin soup is considered a delicacy. In several places, there is also popular belief that it has health benefits, for example for aging or male potency.
In November last year, an international animal welfare conference was held in Panama, where 183 countries and the EU decided on protection for a further 54 shark species. The animal rights organization Pew International has estimated that between 63 and 273 million sharks are killed each year.