New Protection For Sharks On The Horizon

John Stanley reports in the Telegraph about the plight of the shark. Since the film Jaws, the sight of a fin sticking out of the water sends people racing back to their beach towels.

Unfortunately it’s the sharks that are in danger as their fins are considered a delicacy, not just in Asia, but here in the UK. Their fins are cut off, and the shark is thrown back in the sea, leaving it to suffer a slow and agonising death. 

There is finally some hope on the horizon for the shark. During 11-13th December this year, 40 governments and fisheries representitives met up in the Seychelles and agreed to put in place a protection mechanism by the end of 2008. The only snag is they could not agree on whether the new rules would be legally binding. John Stanley who attended the meeting said:

‘My own view is that CMS decisions on sharks should be binding in law and enforceable in practice. Of course, the detailed application of the agreement should be left to the competent authorities at national level, working as necessary through the regional fisheries organisations. But at least a clear framework for conservation and management would have been set.

Sharks have been around for 400 million years, longer than most other species, a fact which makes the prospect of their imminent extinction particularly poignant. Maybe, after the Seychelles meeting, things are at last looking up.’

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