Gqeberha, SOUTH AFRICA — On June 17, marine biologist Enrico Gennari and a group of students set out into the water in South Africa’s Mossel Bay. They were planning to use baited remote underwater video cameras to monitor fish populations near the modest port, when they spotted the bright yellow and orange hull of the Zanette, a shark longline vessel. The Zanette is a special boat: It is the only vessel currently licensed to catch sharks in South African waters, under a permit registered to a Gqeberha-based company, Fisherman Fresh. The Zanette’s permit allows its skipper Marius Verwey to catch skates, rays and five shark species. Gennari and his colleagues approached within 50 meters (164 feet) of the 12-m (39-ft) shark-fishing vessel; they could immediately see that its crew had failed to properly deploy the mandatory tori lines, which prevent seabirds from getting caught on the hooks set out for sharks. They also watched the crew processing their catch on board. Photographs and drone footage taken by Gennari and a colleague show bins filled with shark heads and fins on the Zanette’s decks. According to regulations, fishers are required to land sharks complete with their heads and fins to allow inspectors to verify that no protected species have been caught, as well as check that no sharks smaller than 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) — juveniles — or larger than 130 cm (51 in) — to protect larger, breeding-age females — have been taken. Gennari reported what he had seen to…
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