A Blue Shark fin being 3D laser scanned.
Image: Supplied:TRAFFIC
The launch of the world’s first 3D-printed replica shark fins will allow frontline law-enforcement officials to harness pioneering technology to combat the trafficking in shark fins — an illegal trade that is accelerating shark population declines globally.
The replica fins created by wildlife NGO Traffic have been developed to be nearly impossible to differentiate from the real thing. The printed fins represent a dozen regularly traded, 11 of them Cites-listed species, including great hammerhead, oceanic whitetip and silky sharks, created from 3D scans of real dried sharks fins.
Traffic fisheries trade expert Markus Burgener, who is based in SA, said law-enforcement officials around the world face the challenge of identifying shark fins in international trade to a species level to effectively enforce Cites laws.