The scuba diving industry in Sabah is worth some RM380mil and live sharks are a major attraction. Photos: Filepic
A single live shark is worth US$815,000 (RM3.5 million) to Sabah in terms of tourism revenue over its lifespan, compared with merely US$100 (RM429) when killed for its fins.
This was the research done on sharks in Semporna by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) a few years ago, said Aderick Chong in 2016. Chong is the chairman of the Sabah Shark Protection Association (SSPA) and now hopes that more shark and ray species can be protected under the Fisheries Regulations 1999, reports Bernama.
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