The Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro recently announced it has banned the purchase of shark meat for roughly 95% of its state-run schools, citing environmental and health concerns.
A July 2025 Mongabay investigation found shark meat was commonly purchased for use across Brazil in public institutions, including eldercare facilities and schools. The exposé found that more than a thousand public tenders had been issued since 2024, amounting to more than 5,400 metric tons of shark meat destined for public consumption.
In Brazil, shark meat is often generically labeled cação instead of the Portuguese word for shark, tubarão. As a result, people often don’t know exactly what they are eating. Conservationists warn that such a lack of transparency can result in endangered sharks or rays being illegally fished and sold to unwitting buyers.
Public-health experts also point to potential health risks. As apex predators, sharks bioaccumulate heavy metals in their tissue, including mercury, a neurotoxin. Scientists say there is no safe level of mercury exposure, but children and their growing bodies are especially vulnerable.
In an email to Mongabay, the Rio de Janeiro department of education acknowledged the risks. “The suspension was based on technical, scientific, health and environmental grounds … complying with the principle of precaution and comprehensive protection of children.”
However, the Brazilian Association for the Promotion of Fish pushed back on the ban. In an email to Mongabay, a spokesperson said, “The consumption of cação is completely legal and safe.” Moreover, they expressed concern that removing shark meat from schools restricts “nutritious and affordable options for thousands of students.”
The ban took effect in October 2025, but it applies only to schools managed by the state’s educational department. An additional 10,400 other schools are managed by municipalities or private institutions and remain free to continue serving shark meat to their students.
The ban wasn’t announced through the state’s gazette, an official government publication; rather, it was communicated directly to schools. Bypassing such official channels makes the ban “fragile” and lacking in “transparency,” according to Cadu Villaça, head of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Collective, an industry trade group.
A federal ban on shark meat was proposed in 2023, but it has languished in Brazil’s Congress since then.
Banner image: Fresh shark meat is sold as cação at street markets in Rio de Janeiro. Image by Karla Mendes/Mongabay.
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