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Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 10:31:12 AM PDT
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| There's been a LOT going on in the shark conservation world lately. Some good, and a lot not. As you might know, the health of an apex predator is crucial to the health of an entire ecosystem. Which means we need to take care of sharks. And we haven't. Thus, the Shark Alliance (a coalition of NGOs dedicated to saving sharks) has been calling for adding eight shark species to CITES Appendix II. That may sound wonky and boring but all it means is that these eight sharks get international protection. The shark species proposed for protection are porbeagle, spiny dogfish, oceanic whitetip, great hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, sandbar, and dusky sharks. And Maldives has gone so far as to declare a shark sanctuary in its waters. (See more here: http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=57664)
This week, the votes took place on whether or not to protect these sharks. And every single one went down in defeat. To gain protection, a shark must get a 2/3 majority of the vote.
Below, I've included more information about the sharks as well as reactions from the experts to the votes. |
| Jill Richardson :: Save the Sharks? Nah... |
About the sharks:
Spearheaded by Germany, proposals to list porbeagle and spiny dogfish have been formally introduced by Sweden, supported by the other Member States of the European Community, and co-sponsored by the Pacific island nation of Palau.
Porbeagle and spiny dogfish, classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Endangered in the Northwest Atlantic and globally as Vulnerable, are at risk primarily due to demand for their meat, which drives international trade. In Europe, porbeagle meat is among the most valuable shark meat, particularly in France; spiny dogfish meat is more widely popular, found regularly in UK fish and chip shops.
The United States and Palau are proposing CITES listing for the oceanic whitetip shark, categorized by IUCN as globally Vulnerable and the scalloped hammerhead, listed as globally Endangered. The great hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, sandbar and dusky shark have been added to the latter proposal because the fins of these species closely resemble those of scalloped hammerheads.
Hammerhead shark fins are highly sought for use in the traditional, Asian delicacy "shark fin soup." Because their meat is generally considered unpalatable, hammerhead sharks too often fall victim to "finning" (slicing off a shark's fins and discarding the body at sea). Strong demand for fins is also a driving force behind the depletion of oceanic whitetip sharks.
Reactions to this week's voting:
"We cannot continue to empty our oceans without consequence," said Susan Lieberman, director of international policy at the Pew Environment Group. "The effort to protect the larger iconic species is an imperative now more than ever. In the past, CITES was a treaty that restricted trade in species for the sake of conservation; at this meeting, governments decided for marine species to restrict conservation for the sake of trade."
"Despite fast declining populations of the ocean's apex predators, CITES government delegates turned a blind eye to science," said Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group. "Six threatened species of sharks were refused protections even though the evidence of international trade's harmful effects was plentiful. Inaction can and will set these sharks on a course toward total population collapse."
"All of the shark proposals were based on sound science showing rapidly declining populations worldwide," said Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group. "Island nations that depend on shark tourism, like Palau and the Maldives, have prohibited shark fishing in their waters because sharks are worth more alive than dead. These nations would rather see sharks roaming the oceans and bringing in foreign currency for tourism" |
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