The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) has adopted shark conservation measures, including a ‘fins-attached’ requirement, but has failed to agree on other commercial species like mackerel and herring.
Oceana, an NGO observer to NEAFC, has welcomed the shark measures, which include the reduction of shark by-catch, the collection of shark data, and a strict prohibition on shark finning that will require all vessels to land sharks with their fins still attached. In addition, NEAFC has extended existing prohibitions on directed fisheries for three vulnerable shark species: porbeagle, surdog and basking shark.
“Many of the recommendations adopted by NEAFC for sharks, such as the eradication of finning and the protection of threatened porbeagles, set a positive precedent for the fisheries management in the high seas of the Atlantic,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director, Oceana Europe.
“Other regional fisheries organisations with responsibility for these species should follow their example and put these long-awaited measures into place without delay,” he added.
NEAFC has also agreed to protect vulnerable coral and sponge communities from the impact of bottom gears, prohibiting bottom fishing in six new areas of the Rockall and Hatton basin and banks.
Despite these positive outcomes, Oceana says it’s disappointed the contracting parties could not come to an agreement on catch limits and quotas for mackerel, herring, blue whiting and red fish, leaving the protection of these species unchanged. For deep-sea species such as the vulnerable orange roughy, the situation is the same.
Contract parties were only able to come to an agreement on management measures for haddock and two grenadier species.
Further discussions are expected to take place during the coming weeks, with the hope of finding a last-minute agreement.
NEAFC is responsible for fisheries management in international waters in the North East Atlantic. Its Contracting Parties are Denmark, the European Union, Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation.
