The images speak for themselves: smiling tourists holding a hammerhead shark on board a sportfishing boat in Lanzarote. What for some is a vacation memory, for the marine biodiversity of the Canary Islands is a direct threat.
The Reviews That Uncovered the Case
It was in the reviews published on Trip Advisor that the practice was exposed. Photographs of couples posing with small-sized sharks and comments like: "The highlight of the trip was a 70-pound hammerhead shark! For me, the catch of my life!".
The Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) of the Civil Guard opened an investigation after accessing this evidence, according to information confirmed by SER Lanzarote.
Latitud Azul: "It is a Nonsense"
Alicia Herrera, secretary of Latitud Azul, leaves no room for ambiguity: "We think it is nonsense that, while the Canary Islands are trying to protect many species, there are companies that offer it as a tourist attraction".
Among the affected species are the shortfin mako, the hammerhead shark, and various species of sharks and rays that, according to Herrera, "should be protected but for different reasons are not included in the Canary Islands Protected Species Catalog".
Science vs. Business
The contrast is evident: on one hand, research teams from ULPGC work to document and protect elasmobranch populations in Canarian waters. On the other, tour operators turn those same species into vacation trophies.
Protection cannot be selective: if science demonstrates that a species is threatened, legislation must act with the same urgency.
More Protection, Fewer Exceptions
Latitud Azul demands expanding the Canary Islands Protected Species Catalog to include all shark and ray species in vulnerable situations. The scientific data is there. What is missing is political will.
Every complaint counts. Every voice matters. Will you help us protect the sharks of the Canary Islands?
