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.

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 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!

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.