Dead sharks in Fijian waters spark concern

The Great Fiji Shark Count will work with the Fijian Ministry of Fisheries to ascertain how 50 baby hammerhead sharks were found dead along the Nukulau beachfront over the weekend, local media said.

Nanise Ledua, a member of the Great Fiji Shark Count, said a team will be sent to Nukulau Island to gather samples of the dead sharks to determine their cause of death, Xinhua news agency quoted reports as saying.

Ledua said the toxic spill theory was not possible as other species of fish and other marine lives were not affected, while another possibility could be changes in water temperature.

"It's all assumptions. We are assuming that maybe because baby sharks were always in shallow waters, they could have suffocated due to the change in water temperature," she said.

"It was shocking and sad to lose such a large number of baby sharks at one time. We assume it was not a failed attempt at shark fishing as the sharks still had their dorsal fins."

In November, shark advocate Manoa Rasigatale said Fiji needed to take its cue from the American Samoa's Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources that had promulgated new regulations protecting large coral reef fish and all shark species.