Workers prepare shark fins for sale in Hong Kong, where it is considered a delicacy.
Credit: AFP
MANILA: The first global agreement to conserve sharks was signed last week in Manila, but no management plan is in place. Migratory sharks, including great white and whale sharks, are under serious threat from fisheries and finning.
"Sharks are one of the most seriously threatened taxonomic groups in the world," said UK-based Sarah Fowler, co-chair of the Shark Specialist Group, which is part of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The IUCN Red List 2010 estimates that 17% of the 1,044 known shark species are threatened. Of these, "the migratory sharks are the most vulnerable to extinction," said Fowler.
Sharks travel large distances, cross boarders
Migratory sharks travel large distances and cross national boundaries, such as the whale shark, which travels 13,000 km across ocean basins - but currently there is no standard for international management.
To address the situation, an international meeting was held in Manila in the Philippines, spearheaded by the United Nations Environment Program and the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) secretariat.
"This negotiation is the first global agreement to conserve sharks … and in fact any migratory animal on this scale," said Germany-based Elizabeth Maruma Mrema executive secretary of the CMS.
All countries can manage and use the natural marine resources within 200 nautical miles from their coastline. But international waters are mainly unregulated, and boats in international waters are under the regulation of their home state.
Seven species of shark
Delegates from 10 countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding including the Philippines, Senegal, Togo, US, Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Palau.
There are seven species of sharks listed: the great white, basking, whale shark, porbeagle, spiny dogfish, and both shortfin and longfin mako sharks.
The associated Conservation and Management Plan was not agreed upon at the meeting in Manila, meaning that there is no scientific standard from which the Memorandum of Understanding is based. Measures could include more scientific research, better education and law enforcement.
"Although not legally binding, this Memorandum of Understanding actually has a better chance of helping to save the species than a legally binding document … this is because action will happen now when it is most needed," says Maruma Mrema.
Other non-legally binding CMS agreements such as that for the sea turtle have been relatively successful at conserving migratory species.
