THE shark auction at Tanjung Luar port, East Lombok regency, only lasted for 20 minutes. Misbahul Umam, an employee of the Maritime Affairs & Fisheries Office in charge of recording the auction, said the daily transaction value was Rp10-15 million. “In fact, in the 1990s the value could reach Rp100 million a day,” Misbahul told Tempo on Wednesday two weeks ago.

A decrease in shark catch has also been noted at the ocean fishing port of Cilaca