Oceana calls for freeze of unmanaged shark catches

Oceana today echoed management recommendations from scientists of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), who have called for caution in Atlantic fisheries for shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus).

The ICCAT stock assessment report, released today, recommends that fishing for this species should not be permitted to increase until its status is more reliably known in the north and south Atlantic Ocean.

“The message from ICCAT scientists is clear,” stated Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of Oceana Europe. “Given the high uncertainty surrounding the current status of Atlantic shortfin mako, and the fact that its biology makes it very vulnerable to overfishing, fisheries should not place any further pressure on this species until the potential impacts can be assessed. It is now up to nations fishing in the Atlantic to follow the scientific advice.”


The shortfin mako is a large (up to 4 m), highly migratory shark which is considered Vulnerable in the Atlantic Ocean. Valued for its meat and fins, it is primarily threatened by overfishing. In 2010, countries within ICCAT reported catching nearly 6 500 000 kg of this species, roughly equivalent to 103 000 shortfin mako sharks.

Mediterranean countries within the Barcelona Convention, the majority of which are also members of ICCAT, have already granted the highest level of protection to this species in the Mediterranean Sea.
Oceana is calling for the adoption of management measures for shortfin mako sharks at the November ICCAT meeting in Agadir, Morocco.

Source: OCEANA

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Trans-Atlantic Pelagic Sharks Research Initiative (TAPS)

Introduction

Elasmobranch (sharks, skates and rays) landings in recent years have increased significantly, mainly the result of greater interest and valorization of some products such as fins in the Asian markets, but also due to the by-catch in many fisheries around the world targeting other species. Yet, not much is known about most of these elasmobranch species biology, and many populations may be currently facing serious threats/declines.

Oceanic pelagic sharks pose a particular difficult problem when it comes to fisheries management and conservation, as they migrate between territorial waters of different countries and international waters, between continents and hemispheres. On the other hand, these sharks are regularly caught by different fishing gears and during different fisheries in a more or less targeted way.

Not only these species are extremely vulnerable to fisheries, but they are also very poorly known, and it is therefore urgent to carry out more biological research to allow for enlightened fishery management and conservation. Such better and improved data has been requested by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the international management body of these species in the Atlantic Ocean.

Pelagic sharks are commonly caught as by-catch in the tuna and swordfish longline fishery that takes place along the Atlantic Ocean. Those pelagic sharks are highly migratory. An integrated inter-continental and inter-hemispheric approach is needed for their efficient study, management and conservation.

Aim

To study the biology, population dynamics, population genetics, movement patterns and habitat use of pelagic sharks in the Atlantic Ocean.

The current focus of this research initiative has been on the pelagic species that are impacted by long-line fisheries, and include:

- Blue shark, Prionace glauca
- Mako shark, Isurus oxyrhynchus
- Bigeye thresher, Alopias superciliosus
- Smooth hammerhead, Sphyrna zygaena
- Oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus
- Crocodile shark, Pseudocarcharias kamoharai

The data is being collected by fishery dependent sampling by fishery observers on board commercial long-line vessels.

Map of the ICCAT sampling areas and the location of the sharks sampled within this Research Initiative. This is an ongoing Research Initiative, and each month more samples are being collected and analyzed.

ICCAT - Tuna are done, sharks get the nod

Conservation Triage is never pretty especially when species are being pushed to the back of the conservation line by commercial fishing interests.

Thus was the series of meetings in Paris last week, ICCAT, and a decision not to address Bluefin tuna catch reductions while at the same time adding some protections for sharks.

The shark protections, while hailed by many as a conservation win, mean for the most part sharks caught at sea will be dumped at sea, out of sight and out of mind to both consumers and conservation groups. The sharks are still being taken by very technically savvy fishing fleets, but fins will no longer arrive in Hong Kong to be added to bowls of soup.

For the bowls of soup conservation crowd - this is good news.

Like we said Conservation Triage is never pretty.

There are a few good news points to this years ICCAT, protections for Oceanic whitetips and Hammerheads.

Depending on who you speak with, or what blogs you read, the results of ICCAT, when viewed through the lens of Doha are substantial. Or when viewed through the lens of rapid species depletion at the hands of multi-national fishing fleets with no set international quota systems that can be verified, mixed.

For a fine 15 minutes of eye opening thought we have rounded up some of the after action Blue Blogs and press releases for your review, as always, great analysis:

Da Shark Fiji - Paris Realpolitik!

RTSea Blog - ICCAT & Sharks: a mixed bag of results from meeting

Sonja Fordham - Unprecedented Shark Conservation Action Taken

Ya Like Dags? - Highs and Lows from the ICCAT

Sea Notes - Black Friday for Bluefin

Southern Fried Science - Sharks get new protections at ICCAT