EU Must Make Good On Pledge To Protect Sharks - Group

Silvia Aloisi, PlanetArk 3 Mar 09;

ROME - The European Union must make good on pledges to tighten hunting limits for sharks, which are increasingly threatened by overfishing and the practice of slicing off their prized fins, a campaigner said on Monday.

Around a third of the shark and ray species found in European waters are at risk of extinction, conservationists say.

Sharks may have a reputation as the sea's most ferocious predators but they grow slowly, mature late and produce few young over long lifetimes, meaning their population tends to increase at extremely low rates.

That makes them very vulnerable to overfishing -- blamed on an increasing appetite for shark meat in Europe and the lucrative market for shark fins in Asia -- and very slow to recover once depleted.

"Ten years ago, the UN decided on an international plan of action to protect sharks, but progress has been pitifully slow," said Sonja Fordham of conservation group Shark Alliance.

"Now the EU has come up with its own plan, which we think is solid, but its success depends on the actions of member states, including major shark fishing countries like Spain, Portugal, France and the UK," she said in a telephone interview.

Last month, EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg unveiled proposals to limit shark catches, tighten rules on fishing tackle and reduce the number of days on which fishermen can hunt for sharks, particularly in sensitive areas.

Borg also suggested a plan to reduce by-catches of sharks scooped up with other species, and reinforce a weak EU ban on finning -- the practice of slicing off a shark's fin and discarding the body at sea, which also undermines the accuracy of catch numbers.

Shark fin soup, a traditional Chinese delicacy, is increasingly in demand, and Spain is a large-scale player in the fin market. Other shark parts such as meat, skin, cartilage and liver oil are also valuable, and can be used to make cosmetic ingredients, medicinal supplements and jewellery.

Fordham said that unlike the United States and Australia, which have comprehensive shark fishing rules, Europe -- accounting for more than 50 percent of all shark meat imports and more than 30 percent of exports -- still had a lot to do.

"So far Europe has been pretty lenient with its regulations and setting a poor example to other nations that may look to it for guidance on shark conservation measures," said Fordham, who is attending a meeting on world fisheries hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

"We now hope that EU states will actively promote implementation of the new EU shark plan, starting with closing loopholes in the EU finning ban."

Borg's proposals will be considered by EU countries in the next few months.

Other campaigners at the FAO meeting also sounded alarm bells about overfishing and its impact on the sea food chain.

In its new "Hungry Oceans" report released on Monday, Oceana said it had found widespread malnutrition in predators because of the global depletion of the small fish they need to survive.