The U.A.E. has joined the international community to save the marine wild environment by joining hands with conservationists who have called to observe World Shark Day on Sunday, as a landmark decision to better protect sharks goes into action.
Dr Elsayed Ahmed, International Fund for Animal Welfare - Middle East and North Africa, Regional Director, said, "The Ministry of Environment and Water issued a resolution (500) for the year 2014 regulating the hunting and trading of sharks that took effect on Sept.1.”
"This resolution is a contribution from the U.A.E. to the international efforts to protect the sharks from the illegal practices,” added Ahmad.
It is estimated that up to 100-million sharks are killed each year for the voracious shark fin trade that supports the luxury soup trade in the Far East, while others like the porbeagle shark have been hunted to the point of being "critically endangered in the North East Atlantic” for consumption on European dinner tables.
Dr Ralf Sonntag, IFAW shark expert and director of IFAW Germany (International Fund for Animal Welfare), said, "Shark species are declining all over the world. They are extremely slow breeders and for some species even very low levels of fishing endanger the viability of populations, to the extent that numbers of certain populations have decreased by as much as 80 and 90 per cent.
According to the IUCN 74 species of sharks and 107 species of rays are considered to be threatened. Vigorous enforcement of the new regulations and an end of the shark finning on the high seas, would be an important first step to give certain species of sharks the opportunity to recover from unsustainable fishing practices.
"Creating a special day for sharks, much as has been done so successfully for threatened land-based species like elephants and rhinoceros, will highlight the scale of danger to these remarkable creatures,” said Sonntag.
"Sharks should be revered, not reviled. Protecting marine species like shark is good for coastal communities which can benefit from the tourism based on sharks and from a healthier ecosystem.”
In March 2013, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), announced it would list five commercially profitable shark species (three hammerheads, Oceanic white tip and Porbeagle) as well as both Manta rays, on Appendix II of CITES meaning all are threatened (either vulnerable or endangered).
Implementing the new measures to protect sharks was delayed by 18 months to allow countries to adapt legislation if necessary. So far only basking sharks, whale sharks and great white sharks were listed by CITES. Authorities from now will be compelled to ensure that traded sharks are either not listed on CITES or in the case of listed species, to ensure that only certified sustainably caught specimens are traded. IFAW has supported training and shark conservation workshops to train customs and fishing authorities – particularly in the Middle East – in how to implement the new Appendix II listings.
Source: The Gulf Today