A ten-year old UN plan to conserve shark stocks has made little difference, a new NGO report shows.
With 30 percent of the world’s shark species more or less threatened with extinction, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) agreed ten years ago on an action plan for the stocks’ recovery.
The protection plan included measures to make catches sustainable, minimise discards and identify and protect key habitats.
Now a report from Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network, and the Pew Environment Group, says there is “little evidence” that the plan has contributed significantly to improved conservation and management of sharks in the world’s oceans. Only 13 of the top 20 shark-catching nations have developed national action plans – one of the primary recommendations ten years ago – and it remains unclear how those plans have been implemented or if they have been effective, the report says.
Indonesia, topping the list with more than 13 percent of the global catches, is one of the nations that still have not presented the agreed national action plan.
Up to 73 million sharks are killed annually, primarily for their fins to be used in shark fin soup, a popular dish in many East Asian countries. To stop that practice is a major priority for EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki.