An environmental history of sharks in Southeast Asia

• Main Author: Muhammad Iskandar Shariff Eunos Shariff
• Other Authors: Miles Alexander Powell
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Humanities::History
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/155947
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

It is a commonly held assumption that Asians have a cultural affinity for consuming sharks, particularly their coveted fins. But, to blame an entire culture for the vulnerable state of these prehistoric species seems to be short-sighted and unobjective. Thus, the paper intends to address this misconception through the following research question: “To what extent was the Asian market demand for sharks, the cause of the rapid decline of these species in Southeast Asian waters?” The research paper disagrees to a large extent that the cultural demand for sharks is the leading cause of the rapid decline of the species in Southeast Asian (SEA) waters. The research paper will be structured as follows: (1) Unearthing evidence of pre-colonial shark fin trade in SEA and gaining a brief Islamic understanding on the ruling on shark consumption; (2) Analysing the conflicting images regarding the sharks’ condition in SEA waters according to colonial sources; (3) Assessing the modern shark trade industry in SEA and Europe as a possible cause for the shark species decline; (4) Investigating other modern factors such as pollution and increased maritime traffic to uncover how we as a global collective have a shared responsibility for the ongoing decline of these fierce species.