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Hammerhead sharks are one of the most unusual and distinctive-looking sharks on the planet. The great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, and smooth hammerhead - all members of the Sphyrnidae family - carry their namesake broad, extended flat head; a shape like no other.
Researchers have studied hammerhead sharks to determine why it evolved with such a unique head shape. There has been research that indicates it is an effective tool for hunting: digging and flipping up small rays out of the sand. Other research has shown that the wide positioning of the hammerhead's eyes provides it with stereo vision - the ability to see straight ahead more easily which might prove to be a predatory advantage. And there have also been studies regarding the possibility that the hammerhead's shape enhances it's ability to sense electrical fields with its Ampullae de Lorenzini (the black specks or five o'clock shadow all around the snout of most sharks) which could aid in long range navigation.
Definitely one of the world's most unique sharks, but also one that has been severely impacted by commercial fishing. In the eastern Pacific, at locations such as Cocos Island, off of Costa Rica, researchers and long-time divers can remember immense schools of hammerheads cruising through the deep waters.
But no more. The occasional school can be encountered but their numbers are greatly reduced and such a sight is a rare occurence indeed. Researchers from Mexico, the United Kingdom, USA, and other countries have been studying the hammerhead sharks using telemetry tags and taking biopsy samples for DNA studies to better understand the movements of these sharks and whether there are isolated populations moving around in the Pacific and elsewhere or whether any genetic co-mingling takes place. This knowledge can be used in determining the best approach for conserving the sharks and managing commercial operations between Central American nations.
Costa Rica and Honduras, Central American nations that have recognized the importance of biological diversity not only for the sake of their own ecology but as an important feature of their tourism revenue, plan to put forward a recommendation at the next convening of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in March of 2013. Recommending that scalloped hammerhead sharks be given an Appendix II status will then require the 175 member nations of CITES to ensure that trade is sustainable and legal.
For some hammerhead advocates, this is not sufficient action - hammerhead sharks are already listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - but it is a step in the right direction on the international front as it represents regulations and actions that must be taken by CITES members. Of course, having the resources to implement and maintain enforcement has always been an issue with many countries, so much remains to be seen.
Research completed over the past few years by groups like the Sea Turtle Restoration Project (PRETOMA) have shown hammerhead movements to extend beyond national boundaries with populations moving between the Cocos Island and Columbia and Ecuador. Because of this, Costa Rica and Honduras are hoping that they will not be lone voices at the CITES meeting next year.
“It’s time for strong international protection for endangered scalloped
hammerhead sharks,” said Maximiliano Bello, senior adviser to the Global
Shark Conservation Campaign of the Pew Environment Group. “Other
governments should join Honduras and Costa Rica in supporting a
sustainable future for these sharks.”
Many shark conservation groups will be watching what CITES does on behalf of the hammerhead sharks in 2013.
Source: Costa Rica Star
Source: Summit County Citizens Voice
The shark fin trade is not only a very lucrative business due to the high demand in Asian markets for shark fin products, it can also be a very dangerous one. This was a lesson intimately learned by U.K. celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay will filming a segment in Costa Rica for the U.K. television series The Big Fish Fight, which advocates sustainable fishing practices.
Chef Ramsay was in Costa Rica to document the extent of the shark fin trade and he certainly got an eyeful when he and his camera crew approached a shark fin processing operation. To say the least, he was not met with open arms as he and his crew were threatened by fisherman out to protect their illegal catches. The scene was akin to Mexican drug labs and the armed guards that protect them.
Reported in The Telegraph, Ramsay recalled, "These gangs operate from places that are like forts, with barbed-wire perimeters and gun towers. At one, I managed to shake off the people who were keeping us away, ran up some stairs to a rooftop and looked down to see thousands and thousands of fins, drying on rooftops as far as the eye could see. When I got back downstairs they tipped a barrel of petrol over me. Then these cars with blacked out windows suddenly appeared from nowhere, trying to block us in. We dived into the car and peeled off."Eventually, Ramsay was able to talk his way on board one of the fishing boats and he later found that the boat was carrying illegally-taken shark fins, which caused another commotion.
"There were people pointing rifles at us to stop us filming," said Ramsay. "A van pulled up and these seedy characters made us stand against the wall. The police came and advised us to leave the country. They said 'if you set one foot in there, they'll shoot you'."
While Costa Rica has been lauded in some circles for its ecological and conservation efforts, there is a festering weakness in its efforts due to the unregulated and illegal shark finning activities that take place there. The fact that the police are aware of these activities but choose to do nothing is an indication as to the power and influence that these groups, who have been labeled by some as an Asian "shark fin mafia", have over the Costa Rican government and its law enforcement branches.
When talking with my shark advocate colleagues, I will often propose that shark conservation must enter a new phase, a new level of strategic sophistication to combat the forces that are depleting the world of sharks. With a multi-billion dollar industry at stake, the barbarous cruelty and waste of shark finning means nothing to these people. The importance of sharks as anything else than a revenue stream is of no consequence to them. It will take strong political pressure from nations sympathetic to sharks and the important ecological role they play to try to force the hand of apathetic countries who provide safe harbor for these criminals. But it won't be easy, not when guns and corruption are involved.
We can pursue trying to influence the Asian populace and stifle the demand for shark fin products. But with continued economic growth and expanding consumerism in those markets, it's almost an insurmountable task; the war is not lost, but it's a helluva a battle. Shark conservation needs to consolidate its efforts towards strategies that encourage hardball international diplomacy. The shark fin industry is ecologically unconscionable, but - like drugs, child pornography, and slavery - it's equally as vicious.
Read about Gordon Ramsay's encounter in The Telegraph.
Read more in Ramsay's encounter in Delish.com.
My thanks to my daughter, Dr. Sherrilynn Theiss, for bringing this news item to my attention.
