Officials in southern Brazil are retreating from a practice that, until recently, passed with little notice: serving shark meat in schools, hospitals and other public institutions. A Mongabay investigation by Philip Jacobson and Fernanda Wenzel revealed that among the generic “shark” products ordered in bulk was the angelshark, a group that includes one endangered and two critically endangered species found off Brazil’s coast.
Records show at least 52 procurements for peixe anjo, a common local name for angelshark, in Rio Grande do Sul between 2015 and 2025. The quantities purchased are difficult to pin down, since not every contract is fulfilled and not all municipalities were examined. Yet the revelations unsettled officials.
“I was shocked by this,” said Cristina Luft, a nutritionist in Alto Feliz, where 943 kilograms were bought for school meals over three years. She said the municipality would order no more.
The state government pledged to remove angelshark from contracts, citing biodiversity protection strategies. Porto Alegre, the capital, stopped procuring the fish in 2021, while other municipalities followed suit. Beyond conservation, scientists warn of health risks. As apex predators, sharks accumulate heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic. Children, said Fiocruz researcher Rachel Hauser-Davis, “are at greater risk because they have less body weight and are still developing.”
Confusion over labeling contributed to the practice: peixe anjo translates as “angelfish” in Portuguese, and officials often assumed it was a generic white fish akin to tilapia or hake, not one of the world’s most threatened sharks.
