FINS Blog - Homerun Activisim

Authorities in Palau are on a roll - and it is time to send a clear message to them - this is no kids game:

Following moves to repeal laws protecting sharks in the waters of Palau, authorities there have now proposed legislation to exempt fish exports from tax, thereby making it cheaper for big fishing fleets to target fish in the area.

Full text below via the Shark Talk blog.

The Pressure Mounts on Palau’s Sharks and Other Marine Species!

On the heels of recently proposed legislation (SB8-44) that would undo Palau’s ban on shark fishing comes yet another threat to Palau’s marine resources and national treasury by way of proposed legislation (SB8-50) to exempt fishing companies from export taxes on fish caught by purse seining and to allow those fish to be off-loaded at a foreign port(s).

SENATE BILL S-44 proposes:
“To amend Title 27 of the Palau National Code to allow for the commercial fishing of sharks within Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone, to impose a tax on the export of sharks and tuna-like species, and for other related purposes.”

SENATE BILL S-50 proposes:
“To exempt, for a period of five years, the export of tuna and tuna-like species caught using the group purse seining or handline fishing method from Palau’s fish export tax, to allow for an alternate transshipment port for fish caught using the group purse seining or handline fishing method, and for other related purposes.”

The bill goes on to say in Section 4: “For five year from the effective date of this Act, the export of any fish caught by a commercial fishing company using the group purse seining or handline fishing method shall be exempt from the fish export tax”

If these two proposed bills pass in to law, the combined effect will be:

* To permit and encourage the killing of sharks in Palau’s waters
* To promote shark finning
* To promote fishing methods that according to Monterey Bay Aquarium “result in large amounts of unintended catch” including sharks, dolphins, turtles, rays and juveniles:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_gear.aspx
* To exempt fishing companies from any export taxes on fish taken from Palau’s waters
* To make it practically impossible for Palau’s law enforcement personnel to successfully prosecute alleged violators in the courts
* To risk destroying Palau’s sustainable tourism industry
* To risk destroying Palau’s marine resources through unsustainable practices
* To gamble on all of the above for no apparent gain to Palau or Palauans.

Both proposed Bills are conspicuously absent of any information, explanation or data to demonstrate a positive benefit to the People of Palau and or Palau’s National Treasury from passage of these Bills. Meanwhile, members of Palau’s tourism industry are becoming increasingly alarmed at the potential severe negative impacts on tourism and the pristine marine environment that underpins that industry, if these Bills pass in to law.

There are very active negotiations underway between Palau and The Philippines at this very time to enter in to commercial fishing agreements and clearly there are elements of strong political support for the fishing companies as indicated by SB 8-44 and SB 8-50.

The private industry organizations Palau Chamber of Commerce (pcoc@palaunet.com) and Belau Tourism Association (bta@palaunet.com) and the government tourism office Palau Visitors Authority (pva@visit-palau.com) are urging those around the world opposed to shark fishing, shark finning and unsustainable fishing practices to please express their concerns immediately by e-mail to all of the respective organizations.

It is ironic in The International Year of The Shark 2009, that Palau, the worlds very first winner of Sharkprojects “Shark Guardian of The Year Award” is considering legislation that could potentially put it at bitter odds with the international shark conservation community and destroy its reputation as a world class dive destination known for abundant sharks and large pelagic animals.

Palau's Shark Shame - Tourism Blowback

RTSea's Blog summed up the recent shark conservation policy shift in Palau. As always they distilled this issue down to what matters and why:

Palau has been a favorite dive tourist destination for many years because of its wonderful reefs and bountiful fishlife. And the island has, in the past, taken active steps to protect its shark populations with aggressive action against illegal shark finning operations. All of these efforts have contributed to the island's tourist economy and sound conservation policy.

But that all could potentially be undone with recent legislation that was introduced to both allow for commercial shark fishing and allow for the use of purse seining - a method that brings in a large amount of by-catch. Palau commercial fishing interests have been working with Philippine fishing groups and the combined influence on Palau legislators has produced SB8-44 (which drops the ban on shark fishing) and SB8-50 (which drops an export tax on fish caught by purse seining).

According to FinsMagazine, the collective result of the laws would be:

• To permit and encourage the killing of sharks in Palau’s waters
• To promote shark finning
• To promote fishing methods that according to Monterey Bay Aquarium “result in large amounts of unintended catch” including sharks, dolphins, turtles, rays and juveniles:
  http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_gear.aspx
• To exempt fishing companies from any export taxes on fish taken from Palau’s waters
• To make it practically impossible for Palau’s law enforcement personnel to successfully prosecute alleged violators in the courts
• To risk destroying Palau’s sustainable tourism industry
• To risk destroying Palau’s marine resources through unsustainable practices
• To gamble on all of the above for no apparent gain to Palau or Palauans.

This issue has made the rounds of several shark blogs recently, but opinions from everyone - from divers to land-bound ocean advocates - are needed to remind the Palau government that the negative impact on tourism and the island's marine ecology will ultimately outweigh the short-term gains in a working relationship with Philippine commercial fisheries.

Email to make your voice heard:

Palau Chamber of Commerce (pcoc@palaunet.com)
Belau Tourism Association (bta@palaunet.com)
Palau Visitors Authority (pva@visit-palau.com) .

Palau Shark Sanctuary - Tourism/Conservation Leadership

We began our blogging year with a series of startling conservation posts from the tiny island nation of Palau, highlighting worst case shark scenarios in the form of two senate fisheries bills:

SENATE BILL S-44 proposes:
“To amend Title 27 of the Palau National Code to allow for the commercial fishing of sharks within Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone, to impose a tax on the export of sharks and tuna-like species, and for other related purposes.”

SENATE BILL S-50 proposes:
“To exempt, for a period of five years, the export of tuna and tuna-like species caught using the group purse seining or handline fishing method from Palau’s fish export tax, to allow for an alternate transshipment port for fish caught using the group purse seining or handline fishing method, and for other related purposes.”

These two combined bills would have had a devastating effect on Palau's already struggling shark populations allowing unrestricted finning and catch for sharks.

What a difference a few months can make. This week in a stunning reversal and worthy of much praise for both leadership and political will Palau's President announced a universal 230,000 sq.mile Exclusive Economic Zone Shark Park in it's waters.

In terms of an immediate tourism booster the commercial shark diving world is thrilled to hear this news. As we have known for close to 20 years, shark are big, sustainable, business models that help local communities move from fishing to tourism.

Kudos to all the NGO's, local conservation agencies, and countless "others" who sent emails to Palau's government talking tourism and shark conservation. More Kudos to the government of Palau who made one of the boldest moves in the history of shark conservation, setting the bar past any and all regional expectations.

Let's go shark diving!

You can learn more at the Palau Shark Sanctuary web site and blog. To write congratulations to President Toribiong, the address is: Office of the President, P.O. Box 100, Koror, Palau 96940.

Palau - Still Shark Finning?

View from the Blue Blog reviewed Palau this month and commercial shark diving with a disturbing postscript:

For all its wonders Palau still sits on a knife edge. Like many of us they have been struggling lately and they hope that shark tourism will be a route out of recession. They certainly need to be supported for their stance. Well run shark eco-tourism can be positive for all parties. The tourists, the local economy and of course the sharks all benefit. If however Palau don't see a marked improvement in their economy rest assured that the fishing fleets of the world are ready and waiting in the wings. It would take maybe as little as a couple of years to turn Palau into 'just another dive location', rather than the incredibly special oasis that I witnessed during my time there.

Update

Disappointingly I've been hearing strong rumours that shark fishing/finning continues in Palau waters with the fishing fleets using a 'mothership' set up outside of Palau's territorial waters to stop them having to land the sharks and fins in Palau. Like I said these are just rumours that I'm hearing, but it shows just how hard it is to police marine areas even when protection is in place!

Palau's Shark Conservation Under Siege?

With the good news from the Maldives this month of island wide shark protections, comes disturbing news from Palau about an attempted policy shift away from shark protections in favor of commercial shark fining.

The story was broken by the Shark Talk blog this week and has a list of contact emails to voice your opinion on this shift from conservation to one time take.

A good friend once said, "Shark conservation is like playing a global game of Whack-a-Mole, just when you think you got it hammered down, another disaster surfaces".

Please take a moment from your day to read up on this latest game changer in Palau and send a few emails to speak out against against the proposed Senate Bill 8-44:

Belau Tourism Association: bta@palaunet.com
Palau Chamber of Commerce: pcoc@palaunet.com
Palau Visitors Authority: pva@visit-palau.com

Kudos to the Shark Talk blog for this concise and well researched post.

Greenpeace And Palau Bust Pirates In Palau Shark Sanctuary

The next phase for protected Shark Sanctuaries has begun and we like it, kudos this week to Greenpeace.

It's has surprised few within the shark community that Palau has an ongoing shark problem in the form of outside illegal shark fishing fleets that routinely drop into protected waters to harvest shark fin, even though Palau declared all their waters a Shark Sanctuary in 2009.

We have blogged about the immediate need for millions of dollars to enforce declared Shark Sanctuary gains and to support ongoing shark conservation in the past.

All that has come to a very media worthy head this week as Greenpeace, in tandem with the only Coast Guard vessel Palau owns, busted Taiwan based shark fishing vessel - Sheng Chi Hui.

Unfortunately this great news made the rounds and vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. Hopefully the folks at Greenpeace can raise the bar on this vessel capture and turn it into long term funding.

As a conservation leader Palau has set the bar globally causing other nations to follow suit for sharks. The last three years for Shark Sanctuaries have been the "golden times" but all that hangs in the balance of effective Shark Sanctuary enforcement or lack thereof.

It's an issue that remains the most pressing shark conservation issue on the boards right now.


"The lack of resources available to effectively patrol the waters of the Western and Central Pacific, the unregulated nature of the high seas, and the inconsistent and unreliable nature of monitoring all make it far too easy for illegal activities to take place out here. These serious loopholes need to be closed and pirate fishing needs to be eliminated."

Micronesian Shark Foundation - Good Idea

The Micronesian Shark Foundation, a Palauan based non-government organization, was established to facilitate the study of sharks both in Palau and throughout Micronesia. The Foundation, with limited funds and resources, was formed through the hard work and dedication of its founders.

Support from the government of Palau, especially from Koror State who has taken the lead in conservation management and protection, has been received from the start. The study of the sharks in Palau was initiated by the Micronesian Shark Foundation which formed a partnership with AIMS (Australian Institute of Marine Science), SOSF (Save Our Seas Foundation) who contributed to the shark research and The National Geographic Society, which contributed its advanced Crittercam technology to the project, under the guidance of Greg Marshall, executive producer.

Fish ‘n Fins, the first dive shop in Palau, has been supporting the foundation by contributing boats and fuel, equipment, staff, office support and a base center for the foundation. Throughout its years in business, Fish ‘n Fins has been involved in many local community activities and has hosted various workshops for environmental purposes.

Website.

International partnership expands shark research in Palau

An international team of researchers, conservationists, commercial dive operators, and government agencies has joined together to deploy and operate an array of acoustic devices to monitor the movement of sharks in the waters of Palau. This array, the first of its kind in the waters of Micronesia, supports Palau’s world-leading effort to conserve and protect sharks within the whole of their Exclusive Economic Zone.

Initially established by the Micronesian Shark Foundation, the Save Our Seas Foundation, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the 14-station array has recently undergone an expansion with funding from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS). PacIOOS is a program led by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.

The PacIOOS investment is targeted at increasing the density and geographic range of stations—providing a more precise and complete picture of shark movement in the Palauan archipelago.

“Sharks are a sentinel species in the global ocean and are important for ensuring the health of all ocean species in the future,” said PacIOOS Director Chris E. Ostrander. “Shark populations worldwide are threatened by increasing illegal fin fishing and a shifting climate. The Government of Palau’s dedication to conserving shark populations in their waters is an extraordinary step to helping shark populations recover and we are pleased to be able to assist, with our partners, in providing necessary information on shark movement, migration, and mating.”

PacIOOS is the Pacific Islands regional component of the United States Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and is charged with providing timely, reliable, and accurate information on the coastal and open ocean waters of the Pacific Islands to residents and visitors alike.

For more information about this topic, please contact Chris Ostrander at (808) 956-5902 or chriso@hawaii.edu.

Palau Shark Sanctuary - Video Interview

We follow a number of blogs one of which is The Palau Shark Sanctuary Blog Shark Talk.

For those that do not know the inspiring story of Dermot Keane there's a new video interview out that makes for fascinating watching:

When Irishman Dermot Keane visited Palau for the first time, he wasn’t aware of the disruptive fishing techniques, or the shocking shark finning that was going on around the island. But once he did, he decided to do something about this.

Big time!

Shark Diving - Tourisms New Dolphin Encounter?

PARIS (AFP) – A single reef shark can be worth nearly two million dollars in tourism revenue over its lifetime, according to a study released Monday by researchers in Australia.

The analysis from the Pacific island nation of Palau shows that sharks -- hunted worldwide for their fins, a Chinese delicacy -- are worth many times more to some local economies alive than dead.

"Sharks can literally be a 'million-dollar' species and a significant economic driver," said lead author Mark Meekan, a scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

"Our study shows that these animals can contribute far more as a tourism resource than as a catch target," he said in a statement.

Sharks have reigned at the top of the ocean food chain for hundreds of millions of years.

But because they mature slowly and produce few offspring, the consummate marine predators have proven vulnerable to industrial-scale fishing.

Tens of millions of the coastal and open-water sharks are harvested every year to supply a burgeoning appetite for meat and especially shark-fin soup.

The researchers found that the annual value to the Palau tourism industry of an individual reef shark at one of the country's major scuba-diving sites is 179,000 dollars (121,000 euros) a year, or about 1.9 million dollars (1.3 million euros) over the animal's lifetime.

Shark diving accounts for about eight percent of the tiny country's GDP and 14 percent of its business tax base. It also generates more than a million dollars annually in salaries.

In 2009, Palau became the first country in the world to declare all of its territorial waters to be a shark sanctuary, followed last year by Honduras and The Maldives.

The US state of Hawaii, the territories of Guam and the Northern Marianas, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands have all banned the possession, sale or distribution of shark fins.

"Shark tourism can be a viable economic engine," said Matt Rand, a shark expert at the Washington-based Pew Environment Group, which commissioned the research.

"This study provides a compelling case that can convince more countries to embrace these animals for their benefit to the ocean and their value to a country's financial well-being."

About a third of open-water sharks face extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Regional studies have shown that when shark populations crash the impact cascades down through the food chain, often in unpredictable and deleterious ways.

Sea Shepherd - Whale Defense Meat Grinder?

We're not sure if anyone stopped for a minute during the "1 Million dollar big check moment" with Sea Shepherd last month to really think about the acquisition of their high speed Earthrace vessel.

Renamed the Ady Gil and painted a nice black, the self styled eco warriors from Sea Shepherd have been touting this ship as their new weapon against Japanese whaling.

All we noticed were the two giant propellers at the back of the vessel that to us looked like big trouble for whales.

With a top speed of 45 knots the renamed Ady Gil credits at least one very serious collision with "submerged debris" during her life at sea.

"Shortly after leaving Palau on day 34, Earthrace struck submerged debris which sheared two blades off the port propeller and bent the drive shaft. This necessitated a return to Palau in order to assess the damage and remove the prop."

The propellers are German-designed, carbon propellers that are 36 inches in diameter.

To date Sea Shepherd have not provided "propeller shrouding" for these whirling Ginsu Knives of the Antarctic and intend on putting this vessel in between Japans harpoon vessels and the whales. Propeller shrouding would protect whales from these extreme blades while still allowing this vessel to "close intercept" with the animals and Japanese whalers.

Did Sea Shepherd or anyone in the eco media stop to think about this?

Clearly, in the rush to congratulate yet another futile season of reality television, no one did.

Shark Sanctuary Train - Palau, Maldives, and Indonesia

First came Palau, the Maldives and now Indonesia has declared a vast protected area for sharks, rays, turtles and more within its territorial waters.


The new sanctuary is in a region known as one of the world's richest sources of marine biodiversity.


The new sanctuary covers 46,000 square kilometres of waters around the Raja Ampat Islands in Eastern Indonesia, part of the so-called Coral Triangle region of Southeast Asia.

Sharks, manta rays, mobulas, dugongs and turtles are fully protected within the sanctuary, and destructive practices including reef bombing and the aquarium fish trade are banned, local officials said.

Kudos to WildAid and the number of shark conservation groups, dive operations, underwater photographers and tourism officials who worked to make this happen.

Expedition to the Phoenix Islands Protected Area - Shark Update

We watch a lot of expedition blogs here at Underwater Thrills. Most are garden variety expeditions exploring the flora and fauna of the non sharky kind.

Then there's this, a recent report from the Woods Hole Expedition to the Phoenix Islands Protected Area.

Never heard of it?

The Phoenix Islands Marine Protected Area is the largest protected marine area in the world. It was formed in 2008 thanks to the efforts of the Island nation of Kiribati, the New England Aquarium and Conservation International.

This post serves as a cautionary tale to the recent stunning news about Palau's newly announced Shark Sanctuary. Without enforcement Palau's sharks are still at risk, a combination of shark tourism dollars and NGO guidance will provide the operational capital and vessels to keep fishermen out of the region.

Here's the recent expedition blog post talking about the sharks of the Phoenix Islands Marine Protected Area:

But some fish were scarce: divers saw fewer, much smaller sharks than were here in years past. Sharks are the targets worldwide of a lucrative trade in shark fins for the Asian market, and in many places there are almost no sharks left.

Fish biologist Greg Stone said, “We’re seeing the result of shark fishing that happened before PIPA was protected. We know that commercial long-lining fishing vessels came through in 2001 and 2005, and we saw some of this fishing happening at the time, but the Phoenix Islands were not a protected area until 2006.”

The problem is that sharks reproduce slowly and don’t grow quickly, so there are only young, small sharks on the reef. “The success,” said Greg, “is that there are many young sharks, and the Kiribati government has great surveillance systems in place to protect them and the reefs.”

Tukabu told our group, “Kiiribati has signed an agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard in Hawai’I to allow Kiribati officers on USCG ships, and they are authorized to arrest fishing boats here illegally – they have surveillance on the area, and inform our security system if boats are here illegally. The Kiribati government has recently fined two illegal shark fishing vessels five million dollars.” The scientists hope that this action will send a strong message: stay out of PIPA, and let the reefs be. Like the Phoenix, they will rise.

Leaders to launch new shark conservation effort PEW

The president of Palau and the president of Honduras tomorrow are to announce the launch of a global shark conservation coalition.

Johnson Toribiong, president of Palau, and Porfirio Lobo Sosa, president of Honduras, are to be joined by leaders from other countries to sign a new declaration committing to the development of sanctuaries, which end commercial shark fishing in their national waters, the release states.

The signing is to take place at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel in New York City, the release states. Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation of the Pew Environment Group, is also to be at the signing.

The Pew Environment Group is the conservation arm of The Pew Charitable Trusts, which is a non-governmental organization that works globally to establish pragmatic, science-based policies that protect the world’s oceans, preserve wildlands and promote clean energy, the release states.

Two years ago, no country had declared all of its waters as a sanctuary for these creatures. Today, more than 2.7 million square kilometers have been set aside, more than the area of Mexico and Texas combined, according to the release.

Shark Conservation Coverage - Al Jazeera

Surprising and in depth front line coverage of the shark situation in Palau, recently declared a shark sanctuary. As we have said many times in the past shark tourism is a viable bridge solution to sustianable fisheries. When local and regional fishermen have the financial incentive to save sharks they are more than likely to push back against outside fisheries.

Bahamas Sharks - Cause for Celebration!

Sharks in The Bahamas can breathe more easily after the nation’s government announced today that all commercial shark fishing in the approximately 630,000 square kilometers (243,244 square miles) of the country’s waters is now prohibited.

“2011 is fast becoming the year of the shark,” said Jill Hepp, manager of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group. “Today’s announcement permanently protects more than 40 shark species in Bahamian waters. We applaud the people and government of The Bahamas for being bold leaders in marine conservation.”

The island nation joins Palau, the Maldives and Honduras in prohibiting the commercial fishing of sharks. Together, this adds up to almost 2.4 million square kilometers (926,645 square miles) of ocean, where these animals can now swim safely. The Bahamian sanctuary was created by adding an amendment to the Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction and Conservation) Act (Chapter 244) to prohibit commercial shark fishing along with the sale, importation and export of shark products.

“The Bahamas’ prohibition on longline fishing gear 20 years ago protected the marine resources of The Bahamas and ensured that our shark populations would remain healthy,” said Eric Carey, executive director of The Bahamas National Trust (BNT). “But there were no specific laws in The Bahamas for sharks, the crown jewels of ocean health. The new regulations signed this morning by Minister Cartwright, ensure that that sharks can continue to thrive for generations in our waters, one of the world’s best places to see sharks.”

The new sanctuary is the result of a partnership between the Pew Environment Group and BNT, which began just as a major Bahamian seafood company announced its intention to catch sharks and export their fins. Globally, commercial fisheries kill up to 73 million sharks annually (threatening the future existence of many species)—mainly for their fins. The collaboration between the Pew Environment Group and BNT produced popular public service announcements and a supportive petition signed by more than 5,000 Bahamians. Staff also coordinated outreach trips to support shark protections by Pierre-Yves Cousteau (son of Jacques Cousteau), scientist and artist Guy Harvey, and Sherman’s Lagoon cartoonist Jim Toomey.

“We congratulate the Right Honorable Hubert Ingraham, the Bahamian Prime Minister, and Lawrence S. Cartwright, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, for acting to save sharks, the ocean’s apex predator,” said Hepp.

Press release here.

Shark Conservation Messaging - WWF

What can we say but we like it.

WWF is among other conservation organisations leading the fight to save the world's sharks. It is seeking a ban on certain kinds of fishing nets and working to regulate the trade in shark fins. It supports trade controls through TRAFFIC.

WWF directly works to address the problem of overfishing throughout the world's oceans through its Smart Fishing initiative.

Specific projects aim to raise awareness of the plight of sharks, improve the management of marine protected areas and develop ecotourism projects which support sharks in their natural environment. A 2011 study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science found that a single reef shark in Palau generates nearly $2 million for the tourist industry over its lifetime.

Examples of WWF projects that specifically or indirectly target shark conservation:

• WWF Hong Kong Shark Fin Initiative
• Donsol Community-Based Whale Shark Ecotourism and Coastal Resource Management
• Smart Fishing Network Initiative - Asian Seafood Guides
• Marine protection for the Gulf of California

Shark finning ban now a CNMI law

The CNMI marked another milestone yesterday by becoming the first U.S. territory to ban shark fins.

It was inspired by Hawaii, the first U.S. state to make it illegal to possess, sell or distribute shark fins. The CNMI, in turn, inspired Guam to also introduce a similar bill.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who signed the bill into law yesterday morning, said this should also inspire other island nations and countries to pass their own shark protection laws.

The new law prohibits possession, selling, offering for sale, trading, or distributing shark fins in the CNMI. It, however, allows catching of sharks for subsistence or non-commercial purposes.

Shortly after Fitial signed the shark protection law, the Humane Society International, and WildAid congratulated the CNMI leadership “in championing shark protection in the region.”

“With passage of this bill, yet another region of the Pacific takes a strong stand against the trade of shark fins and the sale of shark fin soup. It sets a great example for the region to ensure a sustainable future for the islands,” said WildAid executive director Peter Knights.

Fitial said he received only positive comments about what he described as a “landmark” legislation, and that he was never pressured by anybody not to sign the bill.

“Today, we proudly follow suit behind Palau's creation of a shark sanctuary in 2009, Hawaii's law banning all shark products in 2010, and President Obama's enactment of the Shark Conservation Act just this past January 4th,” Fitial told the crowd inside the conference room who witnessed the signing.

Restaurants in the CNMI that possess shark fins may still serve shark fin soup, sell or offer for sale shark fins within 90 days from yesterday. After that, it will be illegal to do so.

Viva Honduras for the sharks!

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa will sign the sanctuary bill into law on Friday on a visit to the island of Roatan, the country’s top diving and snorkeling destination, his office said on Thursday.

The move makes permanent a moratorium on commercial fishing for sharks that Honduras announced last year in a joint declaration with the Micronesian island of Palau.

The march for sharks has reached all corners of the planet, and in the shadow of Mexico's recent ban on shark fishing this brings strong leadership to Latin America.

Northern Mariana Islands To Protect Its Sharks From The Shark Fin Trade

NEW YORK, NY, December 13, 2010 --/WORLD-WIRE/--WildAid (www.wildaid.org) and Shark Savers (www.sharksavers.org), two international conservation organizations working to protect sharks from over-fishing, applaud the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Senate’s vote to outlaw the shark fin trade.

The bill was originally introduced by Representative Diego Tenorio Benavente into the CNMI House of Representatives, where it was approved on November 17th.

The landmark bill recognizes sharks to be “an essential element of the ocean’s ecosystem” because of their role as apex predator of the sea. It seeks to stop the severe over-fishing of sharks that occurs worldwide in order to feed the status-driven demand for shark fin soup.

The bill makes it “unlawful for any person to possess, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute shark fins in the CNMI”. The bill is similar in that regard to one recently passed in the State of Hawaii. If signed into law, the CNMI will join another Pacific island nation, Palau, which has also taken a bold stand to protect its nation’s sharks.

“The Senate’s move today takes the CNMI one step closer to stopping the shark fin trade, perhaps the most wasteful and destructive practice affecting ocean life”, said Peter Knights of WildAid. “It’s heartening to see the CNMI taking the lead among Pacific island nations to adopt tough anti-shark-fin-trade laws to protect their nation’s wildlife and resources from such destruction.”

The bill goes on to explain that sharks are especially vulnerable to overfishing because they reproduce slowly. It is the combination of overfishing and inability to overcome it via reproduction that has resulted in alarming shark population declines in recent decades.

“Increasingly, the countries most dependent on the ocean are rallying to the defense of sharks, perhaps the ocean’s most important inhabitants,” said Michael Skoletsky, of Shark Savers. “The CNMI’s intelligent decision to preserve sea life will benefit future generations and attract lucrative underwater tourism, rather than allowing foreign fisheries and shark fin cartels to plunder its resources.”

Sharks, as apex predators, play a vital role in regulating the health of important commercial fish species, population balance, and coral reefs. Despite this importance, up to 73 million sharks are killed annually for their fins, with some shark populations declining by as much as 90%. Stopping the shark fin trade is seen as a critical means to stop the depletion of shark populations.

The bill still needs to be reconciled with the slightly different version approved by the House before being signed into law by Governor Benigno R. Fitial.