John Heilprin, Associated Press Yahoo News 25 Sep 09;
UNITED NATIONS – The tiny Pacific nation of Palau is creating the world's first shark sanctuary, a biological hotspot to protect great hammerheads, leopard sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks and more than 130 other species fighting extinction in the Pacific Ocean.
But with only one boat to patrol 240,000 square miles (621,600 square kilometers) of Palau's newly protected waters — including its exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, that extends 200 miles (320 kilometers) from its coastline — enforcement of the new measure could be almost like swimming against the tide.
Palau's president, who is to announce the news to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, acknowledges the difficulty of patrolling ocean waters nearly the size of Texas or France with a single boat. But he hopes others will respect Palauan territorial waters — and that the shark haven inspires more such conservation efforts globally.
"Palau will declare its territorial waters and extended economic zone to be the first officially recognized sanctuary for sharks," Palauan President Johnson Toribiong told the Associated Press in an interview Thursday.
Shark fishing has grown rapidly since the mid-1980s, driven by a rising demand — mainly in China — for shark fin soup, a highly prized symbol of wealth. Because of their long life spans and low fertility rates, sharks are vulnerable to overfishing.
Within its EEZ, a nation may regulate fisheries and scientific research and develop other economic efforts. The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates more than half of highly migratory sharks are overexploited or depleted.
Toribiong said a recent flyover by Australian aircraft showed more than 70 vessels fishing Palau's waters, many of them illegally.
"We'll do the very best we can, given our resources," he said. "The purpose of this is to call attention to the world to the killing of sharks for commercial purposes, including to get the fins to make shark fin soups, and then they throw the bodies in the water."
Tourists go to Palau for its spectacular diving in the tropical waters, dramatic coral and rich marine life. The remote Pacific nation recently made global headlines when it agreed to President Barack Obama's request to take a group of Uighurs — Turkic Muslims from China's far western Xinjiang region — as part of plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
Palau is one of the world's smallest countries, with some 20,000 people scattered over 190-square mile (490-square kilometer) archipelago of lush tropical landscapes in the Western Pacific.
Its shark sanctuary will shelter more than 135 Western Pacific species of sharks and rays considered endangered or vulnerable, or for which there is not enough data to determine how the species is faring.
"Palau has basically raised the bar for the rest of the world for shark conservation," said Matt Rand, director for global shark conservation for Washington-based Pew Environment Group, an advocacy organization.
Elsewhere, Europe is trying to crack down on shark fishing in its waters.
In February, the European Commission proposed its first-ever shark conservation rules for European waters. EU countries account for a third of shark meat exports globally, and shark steaks are increasingly served in restaurants, replacing pricier swordfish steaks, and shark products are also finding their way into lotions and leather sports shoes.
Toribiong said he also will call for a global moratorium on "shark finning" — the practice of hacking off shark fins and throwing the body back into the sea — and an end to unregulated and destructive bottom trawling on the high seas.
Palau is among 20 seafaring nations that already have voluntary agreed to end bottom trawling, which involves fishing boats that drag giant nets along the sea floor.
Enormously effective at catching fish, the nets from bottom trawling also wipe out almost everything in their path, smash coral and stir clouds of sediment that smother sea life, marine experts say.
The U.N. has called bottom trawling a danger to unique and unexplored ecological systems and said slightly more than half the underwater mountain and coral ecosystems in the world can be found beyond the protection of national boundaries.
Palau pioneers 'shark sanctuary'
Richard Black, BBC News 25 Sep 09;
Palau is to create the world's first "shark sanctuary", banning all commercial shark fishing in its waters.
The President of the tiny Pacific republic, Johnson Toribiong, announced the sanctuary during Friday's session of the UN General Assembly.
With half of the world's oceanic sharks at risk of extinction, conservationists regard the move as "game-changing".
It will protect about 600,000 sq km (230,000 sq miles) of ocean, an area about the size of France.
President Toribiong also called for a global ban on shark-finning, the practice of removing the fins at sea.
Fins are a lucrative commodity on the international market where they are bought for use in shark fin soup.
As many as 100 million sharks are killed each year around the world.
"These creatures are being slaughtered and are perhaps at the brink of extinction unless we take positive action to protect them," said President Toribiong.
"Their physical beauty and strength, in my opinion, reflects the health of the oceans; they stand out," he told BBC News from UN headquarters in New York.
The president also called for an end to bottom-trawling, a fishing method that can destroy valuable seafloor ecosystems such as coral reefs.
Local benefits
A number of developed nations have implemented catch limits and restrictions on shark finning.
Some developing countries such as The Maldives have also taken measures to protect the creatures; but Palau's initiative takes things to a new level, according to conservationists close to the project.
"Palau has recognised how important sharks are to healthy marine environments," said Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation at the Pew Environment Group.
"And they've decided to do what no other nation has done and declare their entire Exclusive Economic Zone a shark sanctuary.
"They are leading the world in shark conservation."
Mr Rand said that about 130 threatened species of shark frequented waters close to Palau and would be likely to gain from the initiative.
Although the country has only 20,000 inhabitants, its territory encompasses 200 scattered islands, which means that its territorial waters are much bigger than many nations a thousand times more populous.
Economics is clearly an incentive for the Palau government, which derives most of its income from tourism.
Sharks are themselves a big attraction for scuba-divers, and may also play a role in keeping coral reef ecosystems healthy.
Globally, 21% of shark species whose extinction risk has been assessed fall into the "threatened" categories, and 18% are "near threatened". For a further 35%, there is not enough data to decide.
Over half of the species that spend most of their time in the upper layers of the ocean, exposed to fishing, are on the threatened list.
Illegal shark-finning is the main cause; but there are legal targeted hunts for fins and meat, and sharks are also caught accidentally on longlines set for fish such as marlin and tuna.
Port side catches
Enforcing the ban will be an issue for Palau, which possesses just one patrol boat capable of monitoring its waters.
A recent aerial survey found fishing 70 vessels in the area, most of them illegally.
But Carl-Gustaf Lundin, who heads the marine programme at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said there were other ways of tackling the illegal trade.
"For example, the US has been sharing lists of illegal vessels with established fishing companies, so that they can report on their dishonest or non-decent peers," he said.
"We're also exploring what options there are for monitoring remotely at low cost.
"And you don't need to catch people out there in the ocean; everyone needs to land their fish, so as long as you have most nations signed up to oppose illegal fishing, your chances of catching them are pretty decent."
Dr Lundin noted that earlier this week, another Pacific island state, Kiribati, signed off a collaboration with the US that establishes the largest marine reserve on the planet.
"The time for setting aside tiny areas of sea that only protect a few sedentary species is over; and it (the Palau sanctuary) is important because it shows the way in terms of putting large areas aside."
Considered position
In organisations such as the International Whaling Commission and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Palau has in recent years regularly sided with pro-hunting countries such as Japan.
Mr Toribiong told BBC News that before going to New York for the UN General Assembly, he had planned to "state to the world that Palau will revisit its current position" on whaling.
But following the recent change of government in Japan, and because of the two countries' "close relationship", he said there would now be a bilateral meeting.
"My position is to reconsider our current position in light of the most recent scientific data to ensure that the current position that Palau takes will not lead to the depletion and extinction of whales," he said.
But when it came to sharks, the president said he was sure that the sanctuary is backed by science - sharks are threatened as a group of species, and sanctuaries can help.
"Not all nations consider shark fins as delicacies," he said.
"And we feel that the need to protect the sharks outweighs the need to enjoy a bowl of soup."
Asked what he would be urging other leaders to do, he said simply: "To follow suit."
France-Size Shark Sanctuary Created -- A First
Ker Than, National Geographic News 25 Sep 09;
The world's first shark sanctuary will protect the declining fish in waters off the tiny island republic of Palau, the country's president said today.
Johnson Toriboing announced the creation of a shark haven without commercial fishing during an address before the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
"I believe the physical well-being and beauty of sharks reflects the well-being of the ocean," Toriboing told reporters at a news conference.
"It is my honor and opportunity to tell the world to join me to protect these species, which are on the brink of extinction."
Sharks are increasingly under threat as the demand for shark-fin soup—a delicacy in many Asian countries—has risen worldwide.
"The need to save the ocean and save sharks far outweighs the need to enjoy bowls of soup," Toriboing said.
An estimated 130 rare shark and stingray species live in or pass through Palau's waters, including great hammerheads, oceanic whitetips, and leopard sharks. (See more shark pictures.)
France-Size Haven
Located roughly 500 miles (805 kilometers) east of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean, Palau is made up of about 200 small islands and is one of the world's smallest and youngest nations. (See map.)
But what it lacks in land, Palau makes up for in water: Its territorial waters span more than 230,000 square miles (600,000 square kilometers)—an area about the size of France.
All of that water is now safe harbor for sharks.
"Palau has taken the ultimate step toward shark protection. There's no clearer way of protecting sharks," said Matt Rand, director of the global shark conservation campaign at the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Environment Group, which worked with Palau officials to create the sanctuary.
However, enforcement could be a problem for the tiny island republic, Palauian president Toriboing admitted.
Palau will heavily fine boats caught with sharks or shark parts on board, but the country has only one patrol boat to monitor its large expanse of water.
"Pioneering Move"
Still shark conservationists hailed the sanctuary's establishment as an important step in the right direction.
"It's fantastic news," said National Geographic marine ecologist Enric Sala.
"This is a pioneering move by Palau that shows how well they understand the role of every species in the marine ecosystem."
(The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
Jill Hepp, a marine conservationist at the nonprofit WWF, hopes other countries will follow Palau's lead.
"There's a pretty dismal lack of protection for sharks, even though they're a key species in the oceans' waters," Hepp said.
"This could really help raise the profile of the issue."
