HONOLULU — Ten Indonesian fishermen arrested in Hawaii are accused of trying to smuggle nearly 1,000 fins of protected whitetip sharks from the U.S. to Indonesia.
They had been working on a Japanese boat and were headed home via Honolulu when airport security workers found shark fins in their luggage last week, according to court documents.
It’s against U.S law to engage in international trade of a protected species without a permit. It’s also illegal to possess, sell or distribute shark fins in Hawaii, which was the first state in the nation to ban the pricey delicacy often used in Chinese soups.
At least 962 shark finds were founded in 13 pieces of luggage. Some were from oceanic whitetip sharks, authorities said.
The luggage included cardboard boxes, backpacks and suitcases.
“Fins were bundled together, and some were wrapped in foil. Some fins were sealed into clear and opaque bags, such as empty bags of rice, that obscured the contents, and those bags were, in turn, sealed within other opaque bags, apparently to contain odor or otherwise obscure the contents,” a complaint filed in court said.
During questioning, one of the fishermen told authorities that while at sea, they cut fins off live sharks and threw the bodies back. Another fisherman said he ate sharks on the boat and cut off the fins, according to court documents, and that he didn’t want dead sharks to go to waste.
Authorities estimate that the 190 pounds of seized shark fins have a street value of between $6,695 and $57,850.
A detention hearing is scheduled for the fishermen Tuesday.
And which Japanese fishing boat did they come from?! There must be thousands more on it.