Shark Conservation in Arabia: first international workshop concludes

Last Sunday I posted some information about a shark conservation conference to be held this past week in Dubai.  The focus of the event was to be on the state of shark populations in Arabian waters, the impact of commercial shark fishing and exporting of shark fins, and the level (or lack of) of regulations and enforcement.

Representatives from several Arab nations were in attendance along with scientists and others from conservation organizations in the region.  As this was the first such gathering - labeled as the Shark Conservation in Arabia Workshop - I did not expect anything earth-shattering regarding the outcome.  Such is the nature of international diplomacy, even when it involves pressing issues such as the possible loss of shark species in and around the Persian Gulf.  Agonizing baby steps.

After listening to the latest scientific data on shark populations - which, unfortunately, is a bit scant - and the reports and opinions from nations as to the amount of illegal shark fishing taking place, and who is doing what regarding the regulation of shark product exporting, a collective "wish list" was proposed which included stricter regulation and enforcement.

As reported in the Gulf News, Ralf Sonntag, director for the German branch of International Fund for Animal Welfare, said there is an enormous collective will throughout the Gulf region to better protect sharks from growing fin harvesting by the fishing industry. “This is a good start,” Sonntag said.  “It’s the start of a dialogue in order to improve the situation. We have some very constructive discussions.”

However, all is not rosy.  There are some serious challenges to be faced regarding the politics of the situation.  The commercial shark fishing industry is a powerful one on several different levels and there is some hair-splitting semantics taking place.  Earlier in the week, the UAE Ministry of the Environment and Water declared that its country was not a major harvester of sharks and but that other nations were entering UAE waters and taking sharks.  Additionally, what laws are in place in the UAE for the protection of sharks are reportedly being routinely ignored.  The lack of enforcement has emboldened fishermen to sell shark fins and carcasses in the open marketplaces in plain sight; nothing "black market" about it. 

The UAE Ministry's comments are troubling because the UAE is the fifth largest exporter of shark fins in the world.  They may wish to deflect criticism by saying they are not a major player in harvesting, but their role as an exporter must not be taken lightly.  To use an analogy, they may say they are not making the drugs, but as a big time dealer they are equally caught up in the supply chain from production to distribution to use.

The influence of those who benefit economically from either fishing or distributing shark products could be felt by comments regarding the lack of scientific data regarding species population levels.  This past Thursday, Gulf News reported that the shark harvest is “commercially important because of its value nowadays mainly due to its fins... in the UAE, fishing of sharks is not a bigger concern than the re-export of shark fins,” said Mohammad Tabish, fisheries specialist for the UAE Ministry of the Environment and Water.  “Due to lack of stock assessment studies and species specific data, it is still premature to say that sharks are overfished. But, yes, fishing does exist.”  

This is the great challenge facing shark advocates now, as they enter more and more into the international and political arena.  Policy decisions are made based on an established robust economic enterprise versus the environment.  Just as we have in the oil/energy industry, the desire to maintain the status quo rather than adopt alternatives is very strong.

For shark conservation to truly succeed, all elements must be addressed: altering market demand, drying up distribution channels, eliminating harvesting, and providing worthwhile alternatives for both commercial and local fishermen.  One organization, Fin4Fins, is focusing its efforts on "offering subsistence shark fishing communities an alternative through a tourist industry based on scuba diving."  This is an approach that is being successfully used with several Pacific island nations, and it needs to be seriously considered for protecting Arabian sharks.  It's not a "silver bullet" solution but is certainly a strategy that must be included with all of the others.

In the end, the Shark Conservation in Arabia workshop was a good start but there are significant challenges to the realization of concrete regulation and enforcement among Arab nations and the implementation of viable alternatives for fishermen.  It would have been better to have seen this occur 10 or 20 years ago.  And to say, "Well, better late than never" is not very consoling.

But let's dig in and get the job done.

Source: Gulf News 10/09, 10/11, 10/12 

Saving Sharks in Arabia: conference to look at regulating commercial shark fishing

A step in the right direction for shark conservation might be on the horizon in Dubai. A conference will be held this coming week to discuss regulations regarding commercial fishing for several species of hammerhead sharks.  Organized by the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water and Sharkquest of Arabia, the four-day Shark Conservation in Arabia will include government officials and scientists.  

The goal is to determine whether shark fishing, particularly involving the great, smooth and scalloped hammerhead sharks, should be regulated or even banned altogether if the scientific evidence provided by the participants dictates it.  There lies part of the challenge as scientific evidence regarding the populations of these sharks in Arabian waters is a bit on the slim side.

With examples like the reduction in hammerhead populations in and around Mexico and in the Mediterranean, where the loss of hammerheads is estimated at as much as 99.99%, it would seem logic would dictate that Arabia's hammerhead sharks are likely not different from other populations in terms of their slow reproductive rates.  And so, even if the population was robust, at current demand levels for shark fins the Arabian population would evaporate rather quickly if commercial shark fishing went unabated.

It is the hope of local shark conservationists that strong regulations will be proposed and agreed to at the conference.  Such regulations would then be formally proposed at the March meeting of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).  This is necessary as the current trade in sharks in the region, both importing and exporting, involves several different countries.  So the end result must be international regulations or bans, and that is the primary role of CITES.

However, strong opposition can be expected as there is a considerable economic incentive at risk here.  Worldwide, the market for shark fins has been estimated at $1.2 billion USD.  And as pressure continues to mount against it - and as the populations of shark species continue to decline - that dollar figure will go up per pound. 

Hammerheads are not the only shark species at risk.  Sonja Fordham, president of Washington, DC-based Shark Advocates International, recently posted a picture on Facebook of thresher sharks lining a dock in Dubai.  While thresher shark meat can be found on the menus of some higher end seafood restaurants, these sharks are most likely bound for the shark fin market as shark meat can spoil quickly when not properly treated and refrigerated.

The UAE is the fifth largest exporter of shark fins and, judging by these few pictures, it's not hard to see how.  That makes this week's Shark Conservation in Arabia conference all the more important.

Source: The National                    

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.