259
with high levels of heavy metals, which would not be marketable elsewhere, to be
commercialized legally. The worst is that unlabeled shark meat has been served in
public schools from several cities to children from 6 to 17 years old, as subsidized
meat by the government (http://macae.rj.gov.br/semed/leitura/noticia/alunostestam- file-de-cacao-na-merenda-escolar) (Fig. 10.5).
10.5 Actions and Suggestions
We therefore emphasize that a small list of actions need to be taken if developing
countries, specially Brazil, to overcome major conservation barriers. They are:
1. Use of scientific names on commercialized products, and use of exclusive popular names in labels. A correct species-specific identification would aid in the
solution to the mislabeling of shark meat
2. Supermarkets or any other final seller should be held legally responsible for the
identification
3. Development of an identification handbook based on morphological characteristics (on muscle, for instance) to be used by regulatory agencies. This would be a
cheap method to prevent fraud in identification. Muscle tissue identification
methodology is already applied for teleostean fish (http://www.agricultura.gov.
br/arq_editor/manual%20pesca.pdf), and could be used for elasmobranchs also.
4. Use of genetic techniques such as DNA barcoding for species-identification
5. Certification programs such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and ecolabels, may help consumers to choose more sustainable seafood products
(Jacquet and Pauly 2008; Lamendin et al. 2015; Sampson et al. 2015; Von der
Heyden et al. 2010). The establishment of species-specific commodity codes can
facilitate trade monitoring of protected species, and also inform end consumers.
This kind of information should be available to consumers
6. Restructuration of fisheries monitoring programs, and creation of a national program of fishery statistics with wide spatial and temporal coverage, with extensive species-catch monitoring throughout the Brazilian coast
7. Trained personnel to obtain reliable data following the correct identification of
elasmobranchs species. Without knowing fishery catches (item 6) and correct
species-specific information, any monitoring will fail.
References
Amorim AF, Arfelli CA, Fagundes L (1998) Pelagic elasmobranchs caught by longliners off southern Brazil during 1974–97: an overview. Mar Freshw Res 49:621–632
Barbuto M, Galimberti A, Ferri E, Labra M, Malandra R, Galli P, Casiraghi M (2010) DNA barcoding reveals fraudulent substitutions in shark seafood products: the Italian case of “palombo”
(Mustelus spp.) Food Res Int 43:376–381
10 Elasmobranchs Consumption in Brazil: Impacts and Consequences
with high levels of heavy metals, which would not be marketable elsewhere, to be
commercialized legally. The worst is that unlabeled shark meat has been served in
public schools from several cities to children from 6 to 17 years old, as subsidized
meat by the government (http://macae.rj.gov.br/semed/leitura/noticia/alunostestam- file-de-cacao-na-merenda-escolar) (Fig. 10.5).
10.5 Actions and Suggestions
We therefore emphasize that a small list of actions need to be taken if developing
countries, specially Brazil, to overcome major conservation barriers. They are:
1. Use of scientific names on commercialized products, and use of exclusive popular names in labels. A correct species-specific identification would aid in the
solution to the mislabeling of shark meat
2. Supermarkets or any other final seller should be held legally responsible for the
identification
3. Development of an identification handbook based on morphological characteristics (on muscle, for instance) to be used by regulatory agencies. This would be a
cheap method to prevent fraud in identification. Muscle tissue identification
methodology is already applied for teleostean fish (http://www.agricultura.gov.
br/arq_editor/manual%20pesca.pdf), and could be used for elasmobranchs also.
4. Use of genetic techniques such as DNA barcoding for species-identification
5. Certification programs such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and ecolabels, may help consumers to choose more sustainable seafood products
(Jacquet and Pauly 2008; Lamendin et al. 2015; Sampson et al. 2015; Von der
Heyden et al. 2010). The establishment of species-specific commodity codes can
facilitate trade monitoring of protected species, and also inform end consumers.
This kind of information should be available to consumers
6. Restructuration of fisheries monitoring programs, and creation of a national program of fishery statistics with wide spatial and temporal coverage, with extensive species-catch monitoring throughout the Brazilian coast
7. Trained personnel to obtain reliable data following the correct identification of
elasmobranchs species. Without knowing fishery catches (item 6) and correct
species-specific information, any monitoring will fail.
References
Amorim AF, Arfelli CA, Fagundes L (1998) Pelagic elasmobranchs caught by longliners off southern Brazil during 1974–97: an overview. Mar Freshw Res 49:621–632
Barbuto M, Galimberti A, Ferri E, Labra M, Malandra R, Galli P, Casiraghi M (2010) DNA barcoding reveals fraudulent substitutions in shark seafood products: the Italian case of “palombo”
(Mustelus spp.) Food Res Int 43:376–381
10 Elasmobranchs Consumption in Brazil: Impacts and Consequences