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Tanjung Luar: A village renowned for shark trading

In this Indonesian village, hundreds of fishermen make a living out of hunting sharks.

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Fishermen carrying a shark that is almost 3 metres long. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
By Syarina Hasibuan
Published On 29 Mar 2018

Tanjung Luar village, Indonesia – There are around 200 species of shark in Indonesia but only one of them, the Whale shark, gets full protection from the government.

Shark trading brings export revenue of more than $100m. Skin, bones and meat are all part of the trade but the highest demand is for the fins which are mainly exported to China where fin soup is believed to be a secret to long life.

In a small fishing village of Tanjung Luar in Lombok, hundreds of fishermen make a living out of hunting sharks.

In 2014, the government put a ban on export of Hammerhead sharks and Oceanic white tip sharks and fishermen complained it impacted their income.

However, environmentalists believe the regulations for sharks’ protection are not enough as they are known to have slow reproduction rate – It could take 15 years for a shark to give birth.

Muchlis, from Wildlife Conservation Society, has been monitoring the situation in Tanjung Luar since 2015 and according to them, the numbers and the size of the catch are going down every year.

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People from nearby islands come to a fish market in Tanjung Luar to buy and sell fish. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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Tanjung Luar market holds Sharks auction for almost three weeks every month where 55 sharks are put on auction. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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After the auction finishes, the fins and the tails of the sharks are cut off. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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In the auction, seven 2 metre sharks were sold for $1,840. The fins are going to be brought to Surabaya, East Java, and processed for export. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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Local fishermen accidentally catch baby sharks sometimes which are sold for less than $5 each. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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The government has banned export of hammerhead sharks but they can still be traded locally. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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A fin is the most expensive part of a shark. A kilogramme of dried fin is sold for between $300 and $600 locally. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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Shark skin can be made into shoes, bags or used as crackers. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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Nurjaman has been processing shark skin for more than 30 years. He has around 50 shark skin in the pile. Once it reaches 100, he will send it off to Surabaya, East Java. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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Muchsin, from Wildlife Conservation Society, has been monitoring shark trading in Tanjung Luar since 2015. He said the number of catch is declining and the size also getting smaller. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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Around 100 big and small sharks are at the market every day. Fishermen usually go out to sea for 15 days hunting sharks. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
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Hundreds of people in Tanjung Luar make their living from shark trading. [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]