Sharks identification tools
In comparison with bony fish the reporting of shark catches is poor. Only 36 percent of cartilaginous fish catches were identified at species or genus level, compared to more than three quarters for bony fishes. About a third of cartilaginous fishes were reported as "Sharks, rays, skates, etc. nei" and not further identified.
A poor reporting at species level is particularly true for skates and rays – a cartilaginous group for which more than three quarter of the catches were reported at highly aggregated levels (order and family). The taxonomic detail of reported to FAO of shark and ray catches, although still highly deficient, has improved over the last decade, which is evidence of increased attention to data collection.
The FAO catch statistics completely depend on the collaboration of FAO Members to faithfully collect and report their capture statistics. The fact that developing countries are still reporting shark mainly at aggregated levels indicates that there is a need for improved identification tools in many regions.
iSharkFin
iSharkFin is an expert system that uses machine learning techniques to identify shark species from shark fin shapes. The software was developed by FAO in collaboration with the University of Vigo with financial support from the Government of Japan and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Aimed at port inspectors, custom agents, fish traders and other users without formal taxonomic training, iSharkFin allows the identification of shark species from a picture of the fin.
The iSharkFin takes an interactive process. Users only need to take a standard photo, select some characteristics of a fin and choose a few points on the fin shape, iSharkFin will automatically analyze the information and tell you the shark species from which the fin comes.
iSharkFin 1.4 (Algorithm 2021/4/21) is now available for the identification of 39 shark species from wet dorsal fins and 7 species from wet pectoral fins, commonly seen in international trade, including 13 shark species and 1 ray species currently listed in the CITES Appendices.
Click here to see a screenshot of the software interface.