Table 2. Reasons (number (#) and percentage (%) of interviewees) fishers (n = 99) gave for not targeting sharks.
| Reason | # | % |
| Taboo/totem/religion | 23 | 23.2 |
| Shark is a family totem; It is taboo to catch them due to ancient beliefs/religion; Sharks are taboo to eat because consumption of their meat might lead to skin disease; the skin gets white stains and finally turns into white. | ||
| Prohibited | 15 | 15.2 |
| Prohibited by law; Prohibited by village chief because he is aware of the environmental function of sharks due to awareness programmes or because sharks are a totem of the village chief’s family. | ||
| Ethnos | 12 | 12.1 |
| I am Indo-Fijian and Indian fishermen do not eat shark meat. | ||
| Interested in fish not sharks | 12 | 12.1 |
| It never came to mind to catch and eat sharks when other fishes are around. | ||
| Opportunity | 10 | 10.1 |
| I do not come across sharks; I don’t know what fishing gear to use to catch sharks; I don’t have my own fishing boat that would allow me to catch sharks. | ||
| Awareness | 9 | 9.1 |
| Taught by NGOs about the environmental function of sharks. | ||
| Taste | 6 | 6.1 |
| I don’t like the taste of shark meat; Shark meat is low quality. | ||
| Habit/tradition | 5 | 5.1 |
| I’m not used to catch sharks; I use to only catch bony fishes. | ||
| No access | 4 | 4 |
| I don’t have access to areas where sharks can be found. | ||
| Fear of sharks | 3 | 3 |
| It is difficult and dangerous to catch sharks. |
Examples of typical answers are given in italics below the reason.