Poor Fisheries Management Endangers Sharks in the Coral Triangle

Poor Fisheries Management Endangers Sharks in the Coral Triangle

WWF and TRAFFIC today released a new report that shows the need for a more concerted effort in managing shark fisheries in the Coral Triangle, to help conserve dwindling populations of these threatened species.

The report, An Overview of Shark Utilization in the Coral Triangle Region (PDF, 600 KB), examines the catch, trade, and management of sharks in waters of the six Coral Triangle countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste, plus the neighbouring countries of Viet Nam and Fiji.

Indonesia and Malaysia are among the top 20 shark catching nations in the world–Indonesia being the single largest catcher.

“This report identifies crucial gaps in these countries’ implementation of management measures and data collection. In some cases this reflects inconsistency with basic requirements of the regional bodies and international conventions of which they are members,” says Glenn Sant, TRAFFIC Global Marine Programme Leader.

Key issues highlighted include the general absence of specific management measures for sharks, a lack of species identification in shark catch and trade reports, and the general lack of available data on both shark catch and trade across the region.

“A lack of data is detrimental to the sustainable management of sharks in the region and needs to be urgently addressed as sharks are heavily targeted in several of these countries,” adds Sant.

Some fisheries target sharks for their meat but the main driver of unsustainable fishing for sharks is currently the demand in Asia for fins, which are used in shark fin soup.

“The development of sustainable shark fisheries in this region has a long way to go. None of the countries can currently claim to be effectively and responsibly managing their shark resources,” says Sant.

The report encourages local and regional management bodies to examine the factors needed for responsible shark utilization.

Posted by George Daniels on Monday September 10 2012, 3:51 AM EDT. Ref: WWF, TRAFFIC. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0