To the people of theBijagos archipelago, the shark is sacreD、In (1) ceremonies young men from these islands (2) the coast of Guinea-Bissau must spear a shark and present the liver to their (3) But can this ancient ceremony (4) the economic fact that a bowl of shark’s fin soup can cost $150 in the FarEast
In the archipelago, and all along WestAfrica’s coast, sharks are being "finned" to (5) Fishermen can earn $50-80 (6) a kilo of sharks’ fins. far more than ordinary fish.By the time they (7) the FarEast, they could be (8) $500 a kilo or more. valuable (9) aphrodisiacs as well as for gourmets. The high demand is (10) shark populations in WestAfrica and elsewhere. Most fish, .vulnerable to (11) eaten by bigger fish, protect their species by laying millions of eggs.But the shark has no natural enemy (12) man. and gives birth to just a (13) of young. (14) female sharks are often caught (15) pregnant, the result has been predictably disastrous. Shark-like sawfish, which are also "finned". are already virtually (16) off theBijagos islands, and guitarfish are (17) threat. In some parts of WestAfrica, when sharks and other similar fish have been finned, the rest of the flesh is often (18) , salted and exported to places like Ghana, where there is a (19) for lt.Dried shark is used much (20) a stock cube would be elsewhere.But in theBijagos islands, where traders are uninterested in exporting dried shark, carcasses are often left to rot on the beach. A.above B.along C.on D.off