The Future of Sharks: A Review of Action and Inaction
Jan 27, 2011
The Future of Sharks by PEW / TRAFFICThe 10-year anniversary of the adoption of the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (IPOA-Sharks) by the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) is an opportune time to reflect on global progress in managing shark fisheries. The members of COFI agreed explicitly in the implementation section of the IPOA that all States should strive “…to have a Shark-plan by the COFI Session in 2001,” that “States which implement the Shark-plan should regularly, at least every four years, assess its implementation for the purpose of identifying cost-effective strategies for increasing its effectiveness,” and that “States should report on the progress of the assessment, development and implementation of their Shark-plans as part of their biennial reporting to FAO on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.” (FAO 1999) None of those elements of the IPOA-Sharks have been properly implemented.