The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group
Shark News 14: March 2002
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Meetings
African Shark Conservation and Management Workshop
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
IFAW organized this workshop in May 2001 in Cape Town, South
Africa ( Shark News 13). Scientists and conservationists from 23 countries,
including 18 African countries convened to discuss the future of shark
species in African waters, and how best to cooperate continent-wide
to conserve them. Workshop participants created the African Shark
Management Group (ASMG) and elected Dr. Malcolm Smale, Port
Elizabeth Museum South Africa, and SSG member, as Chair of the
ASMG. After several days of discussions on threats and conservation
needs, international policies and agreements, population trends,
research data reviews, and ecotourism, the workshop formulated the
following resolutions. The first resolution was adopted amongst all
participants, the second has a reservation from the representative of the
South African Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism.
Recommendations in Relation to shark finning and
FAO Shark Action Plans
Recognising that a number of African and other nations around the
world, as well as international bodies such as the FAO, have begun to
address the urgent need for conservation of shark species worldwide;
Acknowledging that sharks have exceptionally low reproductive
potential and that the depletion of sharks will deprive people of an
important resource for many decades;
Concerned that many developing nations lack the technical expertise
and financial resources to develop and implement National Plans of
Action for Sharks;
Concerned that the practice of "finning" - when the fins are cut off and
the carcasses discarded - wastes up to 95% of the individual shark;
Recognising that wasteful fishing practices such as finning promote
increased fishing pressure, thereby increasing the risk of depleting
shark populations and even some entire species;
Concerned that widespread shark finning can contribute to the
deprivation of a natural resource valuable to fishing communities;
Acknowledging the increasing need for animal protein in many
communities in the developing world;
Noting that the majority of profits from shark finning rarely go to local
communities or to producer countries;
Convinced that a finning prohibition would create an incentive to
practice full utilisation of dead animals and to use more selective
fishing methods;
Recognising the concerns of local fishermen about the decreased
abundance and availability of fish as a result of the dumping of shark
carcasses in the area;
The participants at the IFAW African Shark Conservation and
Management Workshop recommend that:
- All fishing nations and nations with territorial waters implement
the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the International
Plan of Action for Sharks (IPOA-sharks); and that
- Besides all other necessary requirements and measures,
particular attention should be paid to "the minimisation of waste and
discards" by promoting more selective fishing methods and prohibiting
shark finning;
- All sharks, whether caught in directed fisheries or as bycatch,
should, wherever possible, be landed with their fins and tails still
attached;
- Bycatch of sharks should be avoided by the development
and use of appropriate fishing methods and gear, but if bycatch is
unavoidable, the animals should be released alive;
- Landing of fins without the corresponding carcasses should be
prohibited; and
- The FAO, and particularly the richer fishing nations and shark
product-consuming countries, as well as others, should provide financial
and technical assistance to developing countries to enforce these
prohibitions and develop and implement the National Plan of Action
for Sharks.
Recommendations in Relation to CITES and
Non-Consumptive Use
Noting that a number of African and other nations, around the world,
as well as international bodies such as the FAO, regional fisheries
management organisations and CITES, have begun to address the
urgent need for conservation of shark species worldwide;
Recognising that the FAO does not have the mandate to regulate and
control international trade in shark products and, therefore, calls in its
International Plan of Action for Sharks on other relevant bodies to do so;
Recognising that the depletion of sharks will deprive local populations
of this valuable resource for many generations, because many species
of shark have exceptionally low reproductive rates and might require
decades to recover once depleted;
Recognising the lack of awareness in many countries of the vulnerability
of sharks, of their ecological and economic importance and of the
numerous threats to their populations;
Considering the potential benefits that alternative, non-consumptive
use of sharks can bring to local communities;
Recognising the global nature of CITES and its membership of more
than 150 nations and the special mandate of the Convention to
regulate and control international trade to avoid detrimental effects on
wildlife species resulting from this trade;
Acknowledging that CITES can generate comprehensive reporting and
valuable statistics on international trade in sharks and their products in
order to enhance shark management;
Recognising the urgent need for improved data and knowledge about
the international trade in sharks and their products as a means of
facilitating the development and implementation of national and
regional shark action plans and management plans;
The participants at the IFAW African Shark Conservation and
Management Workshop recommend that, besides all other requirements
and measures:
- Governments adopt policies to ensure the sustainable
management of shark resources and help to identify alternative sources
of food and income for local communities, including from the nonconsumptive
use of sharks;
- All countries support CITES listing proposals for shark species
when these species qualify for listing under the CITES listing criteria;
- Governments assess whether shark species in waters under
their jurisdiction qualify for CITES listing and, if so, consider proposing
these for the appropriate CITES Appendix at the next Conference of the
Parties;
- In order to generate cooperation amongst countries in whose
waters these species occur, governments seek Appendix III listing for
these species;
- Countries and organisations, in particular the richer fishing
nations and shark-product consuming countries, provide financial and
technical assistance to developing countries to facilitate the realisation
of the above objectives.
For more details see http://www.ifaw.org and the SSG website.
Peter Pueschel,
IFAW Europe CITES Coordinator
Kattrepelsbrücke 1, D-20095 Hamburg, Germany
Fax: +49 (40) 8665 0022
Email: PPueschel@ifaw.org
17th American Elasmobranch Society Meeting
Penn State, USA, July 2001
There were 61 oral presentations, 14 posters, 2 symposia and over 100
members attended. The symposia were 'Nonfisheries-Related Human
Impact on Elasmobranchs' and 'From Icons to Art: The Cultural Significance
of Sharks and Man'. A number of resolutions came out of the meeting
regarding spiny dogfish limits and measures; the large coastal shark fishery;
protection of the smalltooth sawfish and a management plan for skates.
Visit http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Organizations/AES/aes.htm for more
information.
International Elasmobranch Husbandry Symposium
3-6th October 2001, Orlando, Florida, USA.
Organised and convened by Doug Warmolts (Columbus Zoo) and Mark
Smith (Oceanario de Lisboa), this meeting demonstrated remarkable
cooperation and sharing of experiences (good and bad) by the international
public aquarium industry. International experts met as part of the process
of developing an elasmobranch husbandry manual, which is planned to be
published in 2003. The meeting concluded with a discussion session, led
by a panel of experts, focused on the participants' future collaborative
efforts orientated toward conserving elasmobranchs. It covered: (1)
legislation, permitting and collection; (2) husbandry and veterinary care;
(3) captive breeding; (4) research; and (5) education, outreach and advocacy.
Doug and Mark will facilitate a further discussion session at the Regional
Aquatic Workshop (RAW) in Denver (March 24 - 27th 2002) to review the
plan of action (POA) framework and advance its development. It is
envisioned that the final document will be used as a guide for regional
taxon advisory groups (TAGs), and individual aquaria and zoological
institutions, when prioritising their respective objectives, formulating
collections and seeking programme funding. For more information about
the 1st International Elasmobranch Husbandry Symposium and manual
initiative, please refer to the website (http://www.colszoo.org/internal/
elasmo_2002/page 1.htm)
Sarah Fowler
5th Annual General Assembly and Science Meeting of the
European Elasmobranch Association (EEA)
Kiel, Germany, 19th-21st October 2001
The EEA Annual General Assembly of national member organisation
representatives was again coupled with a science meeting. It was hosted
by the German Elasmobranch Society (D.E.G.) together with the International
Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). Over 50 participants attended, among
them scientists and conservationists from countries all over Europe, the
USA and Hong Kong. Two resolutions were agreed, one in relation to shark
finning and the FAO International Plan of Action for Sharks, and one in
relation to CITES and the non-consumptive use of elasmobranchs. These
resolutions have been distributed at various political levels, including the
EU Fisheries Commission. The Science Meeting covered a broad range of
research fields in the sessions on Conservation and Management; Biology
and Behaviour; Morphology, Molecular Biology and Genetics; Distribution
and Abundance; and Basking Sharks.
Boris Frentzel-Beyme
1st NUPEC Workshop on Chondrichthyes
Santos, Brazil, 12 -16 December 2001
Organized by the Instituto de Pesca and the Núcleo de Pesquisa e Estudo
em Chondrichthyes (NUPEC) this event was attended by researchers from
Brazil, Portugal and Uruguay. The agenda consisted of conferences, round
tables (particularly enlightening) and short courses. Among the issues
addressed were Sea Animals in Captivity (Joao Correia, Portugal Oceanario),
Skates of Northern Brazil (Lucia Goes de Araujo, Amazonas University),
and Identification of Brazilian Rajidae (Ulises Leites Gomes, State
University of Rio de Janeiro). The last round table, regarding Endangered
Chondrichthyes, agreed a statement to be sent to the Sociedade
Brasileira de Elasmobrânquios (SBEEL).
Andres Domingo
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