THE PORTUGUESE government has been asked to use its influence to promote an EU plan for shark conservation.
As the third largest shark fishing country in Europe, and in its current role of President of the European Union, the country is in a unique position to ensure proper fisheries management and conservation programmes for sharks.
The issue was discussed on Tuesday at a special seminar promoted by Shark Alliance and hosted by Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento, a combined Portuguese-American organisation for economic and development matters.
Questions
Participants in the event included government representatives and environmental organisations from Portugal like GEOTA, Liga para a Protecção da Natureza and Quercus, and from Europe organisations like Elasmobranh Association and Shark Alliance, plus numerous individuals.
The group prepared a series of questions to be presented to the Portuguese Presidency, asking them to ensure that the future EU Plan of Action “fosters greater coordination between fisheries and environment agencies”.
The document asks the EU representatives to “rebuild depleted shark, skate and ray populations, restrict catch and by catch of sharks, skates and rays, end the wasteful practice of shark finning, protect critical shark habitat and promote international shark conservation initiatives through fisheries bodies and wildlife treaties.
Official figures
According to United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the European countries caught 100 thousand tonnes of sharks in 2005. Spain remained the fifth largest shark fishing country in the world and the number one in Europe.
France was second and Portugal third, with a fleet of more than 30 boats officially licensed.
Official figures show that the European Union is an important consumer and trader, especially with Hong Kong, of shark meat, in particular mako and porbeagle sharks, dogfish, smoothounds, cat sharks, skates and rays.
Most of those sharks are species identified by the International Union for the Conservation of the Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) are under threat. However the European Union only restricts the fishing of some of them.
Before the end of September, Portugal will officially host the annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO). Delegates at this meeting are expected to discuss a reduction in the quota for thorny skate, one of the threatened species.
Member groups of the Shark Alliance are now advising the European Union, the United States and Canada to embark on joint efforts and work together to lower the skate quota to new levels so that a rebuilding process helps to eliminate the risk of extinction.
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