So precious are shark fins in some countries which are often ripped the animal’s body without being able to identify later, a problem that aims to address a new digital tool.
The program iSharkfin developed by the Organization of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in collaboration with the Spanish University of Vigo, can recognize shark species, especially those most threatened by illegal fishing, from photography their fins. “It’s very complex identification when downloading (goods) in the ports’ says EFE Spanish Castor Guisande expert Department of Ecology and Animal Biology at the university who participated in the project.
Up to coastlines around the world flock ships with tons of fins, considered a delicacy in Asian cuisine, while the bodies of the dead and mutilated sharks are thrown to the sea, a practice that some countries like the European Union have banned by forcing the flap remains attached to the fish.
The new tool, explains Guisande, allows download to your computer a picture of the fin, making it four reference points to define its shape and, pressing a button, get the name of the species in seconds. For now iSharkfin is able to identify at least 35 species of sharks, but the goal is to expand the database and develop an application for the Android system in the coming months.
Guisande stresses that there are 136 thousand types sharks and rays, although researchers have focused on collecting information from the endangered species of commercial interest, which are reduced to little more than a hundred, while there are other very rare and hard to find.
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