Sharks of the Arabian Gulf: scientists and governments look to conservation

More and more, research and conservation management of sharks is making its way around the globe. In the Arabian Gulf, both scientists and government interests are looking into the plight of sharks to ensure that these important ocean predators are allowed to flourish.

Studying the Arabian Gulf's whale sharks
A whale shark discovered off of a Qatari oil rig, was tagged with a satellite tag that will provide important information as to it movements in and around the Gulf. Scientists from Dubai tagged the shark and reported it to be a larger specimen (8+ meters) than has normally been seen in the Gulf.

Marine biologist David Robinson, founder of SharkWatch Arabia, is building a database of whale shark sightings and taggings. It will be six months before Robinson will have any data regarding the shark's movements - a satellite tag stores recorded data and then eventually breaks free from the shark where, upon surfacing, it downloads its information via satellite.

As reported in GulfNews.com, "The findings from this study, which started in August 2010, will help to assess whale shark abundance in this region. 'The Sharkwatch Arabia database has so far collected 57 confirmed sightings in just under a year with 25 positive ID patterns collected,' [Robinson] said.

Gulf News previously reported that sightings of newborns were confirmed offshore Pakistan and Oman, which suggests that the Northern Arabian Sea may be home to mature females that are rarely seen at other study sites throughout the world."

What is particularly encouraging with this research is that it is being funded by several Arab nations, including the Qatari Ministry of the Environment and the UAE's Emirates Diving Association and Emirates Natural History Group. Seeing these animals as both local tourism opportunities and important natural resources to maintaining a healthy ecosystem means that international exploitation of the Gulf's whale shark population could be denied any kind of foothold.

Bahrain seeks to protect its sharks
The UK-based Shark Conservation Society (SCS) is working closely with the Bahrain Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife to determine the state of the population of sharks in the Gulf. The two have agreed to a shark survey expedition in Bahrain waters for next year.

In Bahrain waters are primarily white cheek sharks, grey sharks, and milk sharks - all not particularly dangerous sharks to humans, but to local fishermen any shark represents a catch that can bring money on the open market. Overfishing is a major challenge that the Bahrain Commission wants to address.

According to the Commission's director-general, Dr. Jassim Al Qaseer, "Years ago there used to be many sharks in our waters but the number has declined hugely as more fishermen have caught them for food, particularly the medium-sized species. We must protect them from overfishing as many fishermen don't care what kind of shark they catch, as long as they manage to catch something and bring it in to sell."

Also of particular concern is the green sawfish, which is considered critically endangered in Bahrain. Dr. Al Qaseer noted, "These are very rare in Bahrain, partially because people catch them for food, but predominantly because fishermen catch them, cut off their unusual saw-like noses for a souvenir and throw the bodies back into the water."

It is hoped that the Bahrain government will manage commercial fishing through regulations covering the types of fishing equipment - nets and hooks - that can be used, and through stricter enforcement of current and future regulations.

"Fishermen today catch any type of fish so that they have something to bring back to shore, even the smallest of fish which then do not have the chance to develop properly. These actually should be thrown back into the sea," said Dr. Al Qaseer.

"We must restrict the type of fishing equipment used such as trawling lines and nets," he said. "Also the Coastguard must check each fishing boat out at sea to ensure that such fishing gear is not being used and that sharks aren't being caught and left in the bottom of boats to be taken to shore."

"The fishermen as well as the public need to be taught how these marine animals are vital to us humans and the eco-system, as they maintain the quality of fish in the sea."

I heartily second that motion.

Read about whale shark tagging in the Arabian Gulf at GulfNews.com.
Read about Bahrain's sharks in Gulf Daily News.

Sharks: Kuwait and Canada are losing important predators

A couple of items on sharks:

Documenting the Lack of Sharks in the Arabian Gulf
Sharks have been suffering at the hands of large commercial operations to meet the demands for shark fins in the Asian markets. But they can also suffer due to ignorance and, in a sense, neglect. This is what is happening in the Arabian Sea.

An expedition, organized by the U.K.'s Shark Conservation Society in 2008, set out to document the range of shark biodiversity in the Arabian Gulf waters around Kuwait. With the discovery of oil, Kuwaiti culture has changed from fishing and pearl diving as key industries to one based entirely on the lucrative oil business. While fish are still in demand among the Kuwaiti people, there is a lack of concern or awareness as to the need for balancing marine biodiversity - in particular, maintaining healthy shark populations as a cornerstone to a healthy marine ecosystem.

In the local fish markets, sharks can be found but there is not a great demand for them. Their appearance is more one of being bycatch due to the fishing techniques commonly used by the local fishermen. Gill nets are the predominant method, which basically catch anything from edible, commercial fish to sharks to turtles, and more.

Environmental filmmaker Zeina Aboul Hosn accompanied the researchers, both on the water and in the local markets, to document the decline of sharks in the Gulf. Finally, two years later, her film is currently available for viewing on Al Jazeera.



According to GreenProphet.com, Exxon has pledged support for an educational program to increase awareness, establish community-based programs, and provide cleanup activities, which could prove beneficial to local shark populations - if there's still time. Exxon's motives, I am sure, are a mix of environmental concern, politics, and public relations. Whatever their self-serving motives, if it provides a means to educate the local populace on the importance of maintaining a balanced marine ecosystem - for sharks and other species - then it could be a worthwhile trade-off.

Read more about the state of sharks in the Arabian Gulf at the GreenProphet.com.

Canada Considers Support for Great White Sharks
The Canadian government is considering placing the great white shark on its list of animals covered by Canada's Species at Risk Act. Great white sharks are known to travel as far north as Nova Scotia in the Atlantic but their numbers have been in steady decline, in line with what has been seen with many white shark populations worldwide.

Although hunting white sharks in Canada is currently illegal, by covering it under the Species at Risk Act the balance of responsibility changes slightly from something that was solely on the shoulders of the fishermen ("Do not hunt white sharks") to more involvement by the federal government ("What can we do to further protect these sharks?"). This would mean another partner in the international political arena - where worldwide policy is hammered out.

"It's really a matter of supporting other international efforts to reduce catches of great whites and somehow limit their by-catch in other fisheries," said Steven Campana of Nova Scotia's Bedford Institute of Oceanography.

Read more about Canada's great white sharks at CBC News.

Shark conservation is becoming more and more of a complex topic as we move beyond (but don't ignore) the barbarism and waste of shark finning and shark fin soup and focus more on the critical role these predators play in maintaining a healthy marine environment and the need for worldwide public awareness to stimulate action on local, national, and international levels.

Sharks in the Arabian Gulf: new research to determine population before it's too late

Declining shark populations have been reported in many parts of the world - some reductions reaching as much as 80 to 90 percent compared to just a few decades ago. But there are still some important bodies of water where the status of the shark populations is unclear. One of those bodies is the Arabian Gulf (or Persian Gulf, depending on who you talk to).

But that is about to change.

Marine biologist Rima Jabado, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, has begun a study to determine the health and extant of shark populations in the Gulf. As part of her doctoral thesis, she has been interviewing Arab fishermen (over 125 to date) and their anecdotal information combined with in-the-field study will hopefully paint an accurate picture of what shark species are living in the Gulf and what their true numbers are.

Jabado was pleased to find that the fishermen were sympathetic to the need for shark conservation to maintain a healthy marine ecosystem, thereby helping to provide sustainable levels of commercial fisheries. But, as noted in the Gulf News, she also heard their frustration in how to deal with sharks when caught.

"The majority of the fishermen would want to protect sharks and believe in the protection of fish for a sustainable fishery," said Rima. "But if sharks are caught in a fisherman's net, should they be thrown back? Perhaps they should be brought in? [This subject] causes them to debate. Some complain that sharks just make holes in their nets."

In many publications, including this blog, the impact of declining shark populations on marine ecosystems has often been presented as a looming threat. But scientists and commercial fisherman are beginning to see real, tangible evidence.

For its predominantly international audience, the Gulf News cited several examples ranging from Australian reports of octopus - no longer being preyed upon by sharks - exploding in number and devouring the lobster population; to increased numbers of cownose rays along the U.S. Atlantic coast decimating vast beds of bay scallops (sharks, particularly hammerheads, feed on cownose rays).

Hopefully, Jabado's research will provide UAE government officials with hard evidence from which responsible shark conservation policies and fishing regulations can be derived. While the Arab fisherman expressed an interest in shark conservation to insure the future of their fisheries, the catch numbers have not been so flattering. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, UAE's catch alone of sharks averaged between 1,300 and 1,950 tons annually from 1985 to 2000. While that number remained fairly stable through that period, rather than increasing, it certainly is sufficient to cause harm to shark populations in a relatively closed body of water like the Arabian Gulf.

"The state of sharks in the Arabian Gulf is a blank," said Jabado. "Attention should be given to sharks — they're the apex predator and their demise could lead to the collapse of the marine ecosystem."

Let us hope that the Arab nations that border the Gulf will prove to be more long-term in their thinking when it comes to establishing policy that will preserve both sharks and their commercial fishing interests.

Read entire article in the Gulf News.

Persian Gulf: threats make it a microcosm for the world's oceans

Another pair of articles covering studies in recent academic journals, this time on the Persian (or Arabian) Gulf: "Protecting the Arabian Gulf: Past, present and future" (Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management [Vol. 12/4]) and "The Gulf: A young sea in decline" (Marine Pollution Bulletin [60/1]). Like the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf is a nearly enclosed body of water which can often amplify the impact of environmental changes. It can also serve as a microcosm of what can happen to larger bodies of water.

The Persian Gulf is bordered by several countries that are both experiencing significant industrial, residential, and tourism development and are hampered by a lack of cross-border cooperation in investigating and acting upon environmental issues key to the health of the Gulf. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Iran are some of the key nations that surround the Gulf. Environmental impact studies typically depend on extensive background data, or a baseline, to determine potential impact from development activities. Due to a lack of intra-country cooperation, these baselines are limited or non-existent, thereby weakening the power and effectiveness of the studies.

Development around the Gulf ranges from dredging to provide new land areas for industrial, residential and tourism developments; to oil exploration and drilling; to dams and desalination plants. Sea bottom dredging removes large areas of productive, shallow water habitat. This destruction impacts sealife nurseries and feeder fish populations (a source of food for many local low-income communities) and the extended land for huge developments can alter the water flows which can adversely affect other productive marine areas.

The threat of oil spills from the region's oil operations, as happened in 1991, always looms as an environmental threat, just as we are seeing take place in the Gulf of Mexico today. And dams and desalination plants, designed to quench the thirst of growing populations, deprives or disrupts the Gulf of natural intakes of fresh water which rejuvenates marshlands and helps to balance overall salinity.

Then there is the impact of climate change and a marked increase in water temperature which has also contributed to changes in salinity levels and water quality, in addition to impacting coral reef communities and spurring the growth of various algi that compete and crowd out or overtake the corals.

The small, nearly enclosed nature of the Gulf exacerbates these environmental issues and without the political cooperation needed for comprehensive scientific research and multi-national strategies to preserve and protect the Gulf, one of the studies I reviewed said, "the prognosis for the Gulf continuing to provide abundant natural resources is poor."

What is happening in the Persian Gulf is also happening worldwide. Accelerated in the Gulf; perhaps more slowly on a global scale - but the end results can be the same. Will the citizens of the Gulf nations learn and respond to save the Gulf? Will the rest of us?