ACCRA, Dec 30 (The African Portal) – Ghana’s Forestry Commission said it has seized nearly four tonnes of dried shark fins at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, in what authorities described as an attempted illegal export of protected wildlife products.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Dec. 30, the commission said staff from its Wildlife Division intercepted 3,967 dried shark fins weighing about 488 kilograms at the Swissport Cargo Centre.
The fins were packed in 14 jute bags and had been declared as dried fish, but an inspection revealed the contents to be shark fins, the commission said. The shipment, believed to be worth between $300,000 and $400,000, was bound for Mauritania.
The commission said the consignment lacked the required export permit and supporting documentation, in violation of Ghana’s Wildlife Resources Management Act, 2023.
Officials identified the fins as originating from blue sharks, common threshers, silky sharks and hammerhead sharks — all species listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which requires permits for international trade.
The seized items are being held by the Forestry Commission, while the main suspect has been handed over to airport police for further investigation and possible prosecution, the statement said.
