Department of Biosciences, Hatherly Laboratories, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK.
ReefScan, Bristol, UK.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 31;9(1):1028. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-38270-3.
Many shark populations are in decline, primarily due to overexploitation. In response, conservation measures have been applied at differing scales, often severely restricting sales of declining species. Therefore, DNA barcoding was used to investigate sales of shark products in fishmongers and fish and chip takeaways in England. The majority of samples were identified as Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias), which is critically endangered in the Northeast Atlantic and landings have been prohibited (although there is evidence of importation of this species). Significant differences in the species sold between retailer types were also identified, suggesting differing supply chains. The results underline issues surrounding the use of 'umbrella' sales terms where many species are labelled with the same designation. This denies consumer choice as purchasers cannot easily avoid declining species or those associated with high levels of toxicants. For the first time in Europe, minibarcodes are also used to identify species from dried shark fins. Despite a small sample size, analysis of UK wholesaler fins identified threatened sharks, including the endangered and CITES listed Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini). This highlights the global nature of the damaging trade in endangered shark species, in which Europe and the UK have a continuing role.
许多鲨鱼种群数量正在减少，主要是由于过度捕捞。作为回应，已在不同规模上采取了保护措施，通常严格限制濒危物种的销售。因此，使用 DNA 条码技术调查了英格兰鱼贩和炸鱼薯条外卖店出售的鲨鱼产品。大多数样本被鉴定为棘鲨（Squalus acanthias），该物种在东北大西洋被列为极度濒危物种，已被禁止捕捞（尽管有证据表明该物种已被进口）。不同零售商类型销售的物种也存在显著差异，这表明供应链存在差异。研究结果强调了使用“伞式”销售术语的问题，许多物种都使用相同的名称进行标记。这剥夺了消费者的选择，因为购买者无法轻易避免濒危物种或那些与高浓度毒物有关的物种。在欧洲，首次还使用微型条码来识别干鲨鱼翅中的物种。尽管样本量很小，但对英国批发商鱼翅的分析确定了受到威胁的鲨鱼，包括濒危物种和 CITES 列出的双髻鲨（Sphyrna lewini）。这突显了全球范围内濒危鲨鱼物种贸易的破坏性，欧洲和英国在其中继续发挥作用。
