The Shark Conference 2000

The Shark Conference 2000 - Summary

Shark experts from 14 countries met February 21-24 in Honolulu to present research results and discuss the status of sharks around the globe. The meeting was prompted by a serious decline in shark populations world wide due to over-fishing, excessive bycatch, environmental factors, and finning. Sharks, skates and rays are one of the oldest and most varied groups of aquatic animals on the planet, surviving for over 400 million years. Only now is their existence threatened -- by the actions of humans. Last year an estimated 50 million sharks, skates and rays were caught. Speaker after speaker noted alarming declines in many shark populations, coupled with a reduction in the quantity and accuracy of data collected, the exponential increase in finning that is decimating stock after stock and making good management impossible, and the proposed listing for the first time ever of three species of sharks on the CITES appendices as species threatened by trade. After two days of presentations by the experts, the conferees met in a series of workshops to come up with recommendations for sustainable management of shark stocks, reduction of shark bycatch, reduction of shark finning and the consumption of fins, implementation of the United Nations' International Plan of Acton for Sharks, and promotion of shark conservation globally. At the conclusion of the conference the participants called for the creation of a global strategic plan to conserve and manage shark, skates and rays within the framework of IPOA-SHARKS, including:

an operational plan to improve stock assessments and data collection, and incorporate the results into the decision-making processes,
a program to assist developing States with expertise, training and costs,
the development and promotion of artificial bait to discourage shark bycatch,
a media-based education campaign to raise awareness of threats to sharks and reduce bycatch and the demand for shark fins,
the establishment of international criteria for implementation of vessel monitoring systems, and
the development of a biodiversity initiative to protect the some 1200 species of sharks, skates and rays, including identification of species, basic life history parameters, habitats and distributional ranges.

SUMMARIES OF WORKING GROUPS:

Group 1: HOW DO WE PROMOTE SHARK CONSERVATION GLOBALLY AND HOW DO WE REDUCE FINNING AND DEMAND FOR FINS?

LONG TERM GOAL

To ensure that sharks, skates and ray stocks are conserved and that any utilization should be sustainable and not unnecessarily cruel and wasteful.

SHORT TERM GOALS

To raise awareness of threats to sharks,
To reduce demand for shark fin and other products derived from sharks and rays.
To encourage governments, fishery managers, buyers and fishermen to reduce shark by-catch and make any shark fisheries sustainable.

MEANS

Use sharks as flagships for skates and rays and other fish.
Use flagship sharks -- great white, whale shark, basking shark, spiny dogfish.
Use shark and ray finning to bring attention to over-fishing and by-catch issues.

KEY MESSAGES

Evolutionary success of sharks-- diversity/ 0.5 billion years of success
Spirituality and legend
Life strategy -- prone to over exploitation
Ecological role of sharks
Sharks as a food source
Ending traditions -- no more sharks = no more soup
Human interactions -- ecotourism/ myth of shark attack
Beauty of sharks and rays
Alternatives
Toxicity and debunking the cancer myth
Linking consumption with overuse, cruelty and waste (fins don't grow back) SOS- Save our Sharks
Considerations:
The cultural importance of food in Chinese communities
We should not point finger of blame, but emphasize provision of information to inform consumers.

TARGET AUDIENCES

Media, consumers, policy makers, children, fishermen, fishery managers, government enforcement agencies, dive community and traders.
Consult scientific community to keep information factual and use documentation at all times.

NEEDS

Video/ film (different duration and complexity of content), Slides,
Information (anecdotal and scientific).
WildAid offers to keep a clearing house for the above and will produce an accessible report on the global shark situation: Brochure, Leaflet, Website (clearing house/portal), Radio (different duration and complexity of content), Expertise, Schools (video, teacher's pack, talks).
Exhibitions:
Museums and aquariums/LA County/ inflatables /roadshow/seashow/shark and ray products NGO partnerships and coordination
Maintaining momentum by periodic injections of information..
Celebrities:
local and international Jackie Chan/ Koneshiki / Jean Michel Cousteau/ Famous chefs/ Pop stars / local leaders and religious leaders.

Group 2: RESEARCH PRIORITIES

Chondrichthyan - Biodiversity/Ecology/Biology

Faunal surveys
Fisheries surveys
Biological surveys
Biomass
Food webs
Identify critical habitats
ID of species (Systematics)
Migration, relative distribution
Productivity of species
Oceanographic (& freshwater) dynamics
Anthropogenic effects
Pollution, aquaculture, fisheries, habitat loss, aquarium trade, climate change, ecotourism, ozone thinning, habitat modification
Ecosystem modelling
Basic life history
Food habits
Reproduction
Behavior
Age and growth
Physiology
Genetics
Stock structure
BAC I studies
Impact surveys

Identification and Protection of Rare and Low Productivity Species

Habitat
Historical Data
Definition "Rare & Endangered"
Centers of Endemism
Productivity of Species
Distributional Range (disjunct dist.)
Genetic structuring
Migration
Threatening processes
Recovery plans

Fishery Monitoring & Assessment

Fishery Management
Vessel registry & licensing
History of catche
History of fishing effort
Simple Assessment
Application of simple biomass dynamics (landing data)
Intermediate assessment
Fishing gear selectivity
Life history data
* growth, mortality rate(fishing and natural), natality rate
application of demographic models
application of simple age/structure models
Advanced assessment
Spatially structured models (fitted to spatially desegrated data)
Determine movement rates (tagging)
Genetic stock structuring (size, age, sex composition)

Data needed for assessment

Basic monitoring data
Species ID (taxonomic field guides)
Catch & effort (species, sex, size, age/maturity stage, gear type)
Biological data
Growth curve
Reproduction
Fecundity vs. mateenal length/age
Female proportion breeding length/age
Sex ratio of litters
Seasonality (gestation period, ovarian cycle)
Identification of critical habitats (nursery, mating grounds, pupping grounds, migration lane)
Natural mortality
density and age dependent
Predatory effects
Fishing mortality
Cryptic mortality (predators, ghost fishing, discard)
Gear selectivity, catchability

Data Accessibility

GIS mapping distribution database
Catch and Effort database
FISHBase
Species catalogue
WEB based accessibility to databases
Facilities for improving ship-to-shore communication

Institutional Framework

Centrally coordinated research center
international
Inter-agency collaboration
Include sharks in International Tuna Commission framework
international
National institutions & capacity building to support shark research
International coordination through FAO

URGENT TASKS

Shark, batoid, chimaeras catalogue
Regional field guides (waterproof) for species identification
Manual for stock assessment
Specialist training
Support of existing training
Monitoring of assessments
Identification of pamphlets of rare species
National and regional checklists

Group 3: MANAGING SHARKS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Recommendations:

The conference secretariat should write a letter to the World Bank encouraging them to include sharks in their proposed forum for sustainable fisheries.
The conference secretariat should write to the FAO, encouraging them to nominate an Elasmobranch Ambassador who would work with FAO member countries to encourage implementation of the International Plan of Action.
Individuals and groups attending the conference should encourage countries to ratify the FAO's Straddling Stocks and Compliance Agreements, in order to ensure that they become binding.
Consistent with the Code of Conduct the conference should encourage regional and national bodies to adopt a precautionary approach for species with little or no data. A species could be harvested only by special permit and the criteria for that permit would/should include data collection, observers, and other options necessary to develop a management plan for elasmobranch species.
Consistent with the FAO Code of Conduct, the conference should encourage FAO to establish international criteria for implementation of VMS on all vessels as appropriate.
The conference secretariat should send a letter to the Secretary of Commerce of the United States requesting that he ask the UN to amend the Compliance Agreement to include a provision that all foreign vessels of an appropriate length be required to use an approved VMS system.
Recommend the development of a Global Strategic Plan for Elasmobranchs for conservation within the framework of implementation of IPOA for Sharks. This should include mechanisms to assist developing countries with both expertise and funding.

Group 4: IMPLEMENTATION OF FAO'S ACTION PLAN AND REDUCING BYCATCH

The group essentially agreed with the outcome of Group 3, with two differences:

The group discussed the apparent lack of progress in implementing the FAO International Plan of Action by both member countries and FAO.
The group recommended that any press release or communications from the conference express the concern of the group on the lack of progress implementing the UN FAO International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks by FAO and member countries (and possibly endorse the statement of concern from the OWC Workshop in Pacific Grove).