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North American countries still lack effective protection for sharks
New report: Freeze Spiny Dogfish fishing in the USA

March 26, 1998

Shark Finning

Cambridge, UK - The three countries of North America - Canada, Mexico and the USA -- still lack adequate monitoring and management measures for some highly exploited species of shark, the most feared yet kingly fish.

The warning comes in a new report, Shark Fisheries and Trade in the Americas: North America, released today by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring programme of WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature and IUCN-The World Conservation Union.

The report's release, in collaboration with the WWF Endangered Seas Campaign, comes only a few weeks before world shark experts prepare to convene in Tokyo in late April under the auspices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to discuss world shark fisheries. The UN has also declared 1998 "The International Year of the Ocean".

Mexico and the USA - two of the world's top 20 shark fishing nations - together landed more than 100 000 tonnes of shark in 1994. Also, while Canada has long been considered a minor player in the shark trade, TRAFFIC research indicates that Canadian imports and exports of shark products are poorly documented by the government.

Some precautionary measures have been put in place in Canada and the USA, but one particular shark species -- the Piked or Spiny Dogfish -- continues to escape the management safety net.  This shark is being caught in increasing numbers in North America, largely for meat exports to Europe, where the dogfish population has been depleted by over-fishing. There are already clear signs of decline in the USA, where there has been a rapid increase in landings since the early 1990s.

"Some European stocks are over-fished and now North America is exhausting its stocks to fill a seemingly limitless international demand," said Andrea Gaski, director of research for TRAFFIC North America and editor of the report.  "The situation looks increasingly precarious when you consider the lack of international monitoring, regulation, and basic information on biology."

In Mexico, where many shark products are processed for the international market, fisheries agencies have instituted long-term reporting of catch and landings. To date, however, the country's shark fisheries remain largely unregulated and even the requirement for a simple permit to engage in the fishery is reportedly evaded on a frequent basis.

The existing management and precautionary measures in place in Canada and the USA for some shark fisheries also have limitations. Most importantly, they tend to focus primarily on the fisheries specifically targeting sharks, neglecting important impacts of fisheries that catch sharks incidentally. This incidental catch, known as bycatch, often has significant mortality rates.

Historically most sharks were caught as bycatch and dumped dead back into the ocean as "trash" fish. According to the report, each year worldwide 240 000 tonnes of sharks are discarded when caught.

Today, sharks continue to be discarded as bycatch; however, as popular fish such as  tunas and swordfish become increasingly depleted, restricted, or seasonally unavailable, fishermen are turning to direct shark fishing as an alternative.

"Without better measures at the national, regional and international levels, we are truly tempting fate," said Scott Burns, director of WWF's Fish Conservation Program in the USA  "There is no way to evaluate the damage we are inflicting on shark populations until it becomes too late."

Unlike some other fish that rapidly reproduce, sharks are particularly susceptible to over-fishing because most have a long life span and low reproductive cycles. Many sharks do not reach sexual maturity until their teens and produce only a small number of offspring. As a result, sharks are unable to rebound when populations are reduced further by intensive commercial fisheries and as top predators, their extinction could have a profound and detrimental impact on marine ecosystems.

More than 125 countries participate in the trade in sharks and shark products. Most fisheries for sharks are unregulated and unmonitored. At the same time, the trade in sharks and shark products is vast and, in some regions, increasing.  Shark fins, meat, liver oil, and other parts are sold for food or as ingredients in health and beauty aids.

Like other shark fishing and trading nations, Canada, Mexico and the USA should take action at the national and regional levels to ensure the conservation of their shark populations and the proper documentation of their own role in the trade in sharks and shark products.

In the case of the Spiny Dogfish, development of precautionary measures may be advisable for dogfish fisheries in Canada, whereas catch in the USA should cease until a management plan is in place. The report also recommends co-operative research and management efforts between Canada and the USA for this particular shark, as evidence suggests that a single stock of Spiny Dogfish migrates between the two countries.

In Mexico, management measures are needed but must also take into account the local economics and the importance of these fisheries to the humans that depend upon them, particularly small-scale fishermen.

At the international level, two essential steps are needed: specific and consistent monitoring of the catch, landings and trade in sharks, and the establishment of a scientifically based global endeavour to ensure their survival.

For more information, contact:

Bobbie Jo Kelso at TRAFFIC International, +44 1223 277427
or
Someshwar Singh at WWF International, +41 22 364 9553

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TRAFFIC International co-ordinates the worldwide TRAFFIC Network. WWF is known as World Wildlife Fund in Canada and the USA.