Shark Fishing Prohibited

September 29, 2009

Release from: FIS World News

The Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM) will prohibit the capture of thresher sharks and scalloped hammerhead sharks – by means of a Ministerial Order set to enter into force 1 January 2010 – in an effort to protect both vulnerable species.

According to the norm, Spanish fishing ships will not be able to catch, transfer, land or commercialise these sharks in any of the fishing-grounds they target.

The disposition also includes territorial waters of third-party countries with which the European Union (EU) has signed a fishing agreement, or of nations with which a private agreement or a fishing vessel tenancy agreement can be sealed.

The measure adopted by MARM is framed within the recommendations issued by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and by the Regional Fisheries Organizations (RFOs).

In those cases in which the accidental capture of sharks of both species takes place, Spanish-flag vessels will have to release them live when they reach the flank of the ship or are found caught in the fishing net, MARM clarified.

All data referring to estimated weight, position and the release date of the shark will have to be recorded in the Onboard Logbook of the European Communities.

In cases where some fish are found dead at the flank of the vessel, the authority will have to note down the estimated weight, date and position in the Logbook.

The Spanish longliner fleet consists of around 300 ships that have worked in the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea from the start.

Later, and due to the regulations established for swordfish in the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), these vessels extended their activity to fishing-grounds of the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Last June, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation (CEPESCA) rejected accusations levied by green groups against Spain’s longliner fleet, of which the environmentalists attribute "excesses in overexploiting protected shark species."

“We are proud of the fishery carried out by the Spanish longliner fleet, in regards to both swordfish and shark. [It is] a legal, regulated, sustainable and responsible fishery," said Javier Garat, Secretary General of the organisation, on the matter.