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Michael Sutton
Conservation Program
The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
Why Protect Sharks?
- Inherently Vulnerable
- Long-lived
- Slow to mature
- Low fecundity
- "Lions and Tigers of the Sea"
- Huge markets for fins & other products
Three Types of Legal ToolsM
- WILDLIFE PROTECTION:
Treaties, laws, and regulations aimed at protecting species, controlling trade, and conserving marine biological diversity.
- FISHERIES MANAGEMENT:
Treaties, laws, and regulations aimed at controlling fish catches and making marine fisheries sustainable.
- TRADE REGULATION:
Laws, treaties and regulations that require monitoring of international trade in wildlife, place limits on trade, or impose trade sanctions for non-compliance with conservation or fisheries agreements.
Fisheries Tools
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
- Exclusive Economic Zones (200 mile limit)
- Freedom to fish on the high seas
- Management goal is "optimum utilization"
- Coastal states have rights, duties
- Flag states have responsibility for vessels
- All states have duty to cooperate
Local laws and customs
State laws and regulations
- Only two western states manage sharks: California and Alaska
- Most laws don't deal with bycatch
- No management in Hawaii
The Special Case of Hawaii
- Most shark landings of any U.S. state
- 6.2 million pounds landed in 1998
- 2500% increase in landings since 1991
- No state management of shark fisheries
Fisheries Tools
National laws and regulations
- Only a few countries: Australia, Canada, United States, South Africa, Mexico, etc.
- U.S. management inconsistent
- Atlantic sharks managed since 1993
- "Finning" banned in U.S. Atlantic waters
- Councils responsible for Pacific sharks
- "Finning" still legal in U.S. Pacific waters
Fisheries Tools
Bilateral and regional agreements
- IATTC, ICCAT, GFCM, NAFO, CCSBT, South Pacific Forum, CCAMLR, IOTC, etc.
International treaties & agreements
- FAO Code of Conduct
- U.N. Fish Stocks Agreement
- FAO International Plan of Action for Sharks
What Fisheries Tools Lack
- Theme is management, not protection
- Emphasis is sustained yield
- Focus is on other species
- Sharks are mainly bycatch
- Precautionary approach not adopted
- Record of success is poor
Two Hopeful Signs
UN Fish Stocks Agreement
- Binding on nations, regional commissions
- Promotes precautionary approach, bycatch reduction, ecosystem protection
- Not yet in force (25 of 30 countries ratified)
FAO International Plan of Action
- National plans required by 2001
- Non-binding; little action so far
Wildlife Protection Tools
Local and state laws
- California & Alaska; Hawaii??
National laws and regulations
Regional agreements
- Barcelona, Cartagena, ASEAN, etc.
Multilateral treaties and agreements
Advantages of Wildlife Tools
- Theme is conservation, not production
- Usually have more signatory nations
- Embody the precautionary approach
- Allow for strict protection when needed
- Can be used to promote sustainable use of exploited species
Trade Tools
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
- Purpose: To prevent trade from endangering species.
- Large membership
- Powerful tool to monitor and limit trade
- Useful as a "threat" to fishery managers
CITES 2000 (Nairobi)
- Three shark species proposed for listing on Appendices
- Whale shark, basking shark, white shark
- May be first commercially-important fishes listed
Trade Tools
National and state laws that authorize trade sanctions:
- Pelly Amendment
- Authorizes embargo of fishery products caught in violation of conservation agreements
- State landings laws
- Hawaii could ban landing of shark fins
In Summary
- Most shark fisheries are unmanaged
- Trade in shark products is unregulated
- Generally, we have sufficient legal tools
- Caution! Fisheries laws and agreements alone are unlikely to protect sharks
- In fact, the combined power of law and science will probably prove insufficient
Making Conservation Work
- Legal Authority + Sound Science + Political Will = Effective Conservation
- Efforts to influence seafood consumer behavior offer new hope
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