The EU has tabled three ambitious proposals at this year''s annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) which, if adopted, will represent a major leap forward in the protection of vulnerable shark species in the Atlantic.
The proposals call for the banning of directed fisheries on the endangered thresher and hammerhead sharks, the freezing of effort on the vulnerable blue and shortfin mako sharks, and defined steps leading to a coherent global approach in 2009 on the protection of porbeagle in the Atlantic Ocean.
The first EU proposal deals with thresher and hammerhead sharks. It calls for the banning of directed fisheries on all species in these two families, which are two of the most endangered species in the world. It would oblige operators to release all sharks of these species which are captured accidentally, and to record all such encounters in their log books. It would also ban operators from retaining on board, transhipping or landing any part or whole carcasses of these species.
The second EU proposal outlines a series of steps which should lead, by the end of 2009, to the adoption of a coherent global management regime for porbeagle throughout the Atlantic Ocean. ICES has advised no fishing on porbeagle in the North East Atlantic, and this is already reflected in the Commission's proposal to close all fisheries on this highly endangered species in EU waters. The EU proposal would build on the joint ICCAT-ICES meeting planned for 2009 to further assess the condition of porbeagle stocks throughout the Atlantic, and in which scientific advisers from other concerned Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) will be invited to participate. Immediately following this, the EU proposes that a joint meeting of Chairs of concerned RFMOs should be convened to examine the possibility of adopting compatible management measures for these stocks.
The third EU proposal concerns blue shark and shortfin mako shark, which remain highly vulnerable to overfishing. The EU proposes that fishing effort on both stocks should be frozen at 2008 levels, and that catches of shortfin mako sharks should be limited to the average catch level for the period 2005-2007. No new licences or fishing opportunities for either species should be granted.
