18 Nov 2015

CNMI conservationists angry at dead shark discovery

5:10 pm on 18 November 2015
Reef sharks.

Photo: Don Silcock / Cultura Creative

Conservationists in the Northern Marianas are angry after the discovery of three dead juvenile sharks without their fins and tails on a Saipan beach.

Shark-finning was banned in the territory in 2011, but many believe the act still regularly occurs with little enforcement.

The laws -- the first of any US territory -- made it illegal for any person to possess, sell, trade, or distribute shark fins.

Shark fins are a Chinese delicacy and are falsely believed to have medicinal purposes.