An open letter concerning the unsustainability of shark finning

White Shark Conservation Trust

29. May 2012

 

As a conservation organisation, we would like to express our concern about the recent misinformation perpetuated in the national and international media asserting that the shark fin trade is sustainable. The reality is that this vast trade is largely unmanaged and unmonitored, and that the shark fin industry in Asia plays little to no role in fisheries management in the countries that are fishing sharks, including New Zealand. The slow growth and reproductive rates of sharks makes them extremely susceptible to overexploitation. Since only a small fraction of shark-fishing nations have any type of shark management plan in place, the assertion that the fin trade is sustainable is not based in fact.

Despite claims to the contrary by Fisheries Departments worldwide, there is a wealth of scientific evidence that populations of many shark species are in decline, with the shark fin trade being an important driver. There is a solid scientific consensus that many sharks and indeed other cartilaginous fishes, such as skates and rays, are in severe trouble, and there is emerging evidence that this could be causing wider disruptions in ocean ecosystems.

We, the undersigned believe, in the interests of both the global marine environment and the public that depends on healthy ocean ecosystems, that decision makers should be apprised of the full facts of the shark fin issue, most specifically that:

The shark fin trade, as it currently stands, is NOT sustainable. Peer-reviewed scientific research has shown that the fins of tens of millions of sharks passed through the shark fin trade in 2000. Since then there has been no accurate estimation of the trade volume and corresponding number of sharks killed, making it impossible for the industry to state that the trade is sustainable. Declines in shark populations have been reported from many locations worldwide, and many areas – like the Caribbean, for example – are heavily impacted. Individual populations, such as oceanic whitetip sharks in the Gulf of Mexico and hammerheads in the Mediterranean, have experienced severe declines. These statistics are not mere speculation but are backed up by published analyses in academic journals.

Shark fins are by far the most valuable part of the shark, which encourages many fisheries to target them or retain them even when they are caught incidentally, rather than releasing them alive. The shark fin trade should therefore be viewed as a major driver of global shark fishing activities, which are often unmanaged and conducted in an unsustainable manner.

The UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) does NOT adequately protect endangered shark species. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists 82 species of sharks on its Red List of Threatened Species as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered. Yet, CITES regulates trade of just three of these threatened shark species. Despite meeting the scientific criteria for listing, numerous shark species have been denied CITES protection because politics prevented them from receiving the two-thirds of the votes necessary for a CITES listing. A larger number of species are considered threatened and are therefore prohibited in particular countries or by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations. CITES tends to lag behind domestic and regional management bodies because of the 2/3 majority requirement and should not therefore be used as the benchmark for whether a species is under threat.

In short, the overwhelming body of scientific data supports the urgent need to focus on adequate conservation and management strategies rather than maintaining unsustainable levels of fishing. Given that sharks play an important role in maintaining the delicate balance of the world’s marine ecosystems, and that many species of sharks are now threatened or near threatened with extinction, there is a rare opportunity to make a significant impact on an issue of global importance by helping to regulate the burgeoning international trade in shark fins.

Yours sincerely,

 

Dr. Gregor Cailllet

Director Emeritus, Pacific Shark Research Centre

Professor Emeritus, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories

Moss Landing, California

USA

 

 

Dr. Jeffrey C. Carrier, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus of Biology –

Albion College

American Elasmobranch Society –

Past-President

Adjunct Research Scientist –

Mote Marine Laboratory

Albion, Michigan, USA

 

 

Dr. Demian D.F. Chapman

Assistant Professor,

School of Marine and Atmospheric Science,

Stony Brook University,

Stony Brook,

USA

 

 

Dr. William Cheung

Assistant Professor,

Fisheries Centre,

The University of British Columbia,

Canada

 

 

Dr. Philippe Cury

IRD Senior Scientist

Director Centre de Recherche Halieutique Méditerranéenne et Tropicale Sète,

France

 

 

Dr. Toby S. Daly-Engel

Assistant Professor of Marine Biology

University of West Florida

Pensacola, Florida, USA

 

 

Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Ph.D.

President, Tethys Research Institute

Milano, Italy

 

 

Dr. Michael L. Domeier

President Marine Conservation Science Institute,

2809 South Mission Road,

Suite G,

Fallbrook, CA 92028,

USA

 

 

E. Esat Atikkan, Ph.D.

NAUI 6274

Adj. Prof., Biology

Adj. Prof., Physical Education

Montgomery College

Rockville, Maryland, USA

 

 

Kevin Feldheim, Ph.D.

A. Watson Armour III Manager of the Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution

Field Museum of Natural History

Chicago, Illinois, USA

 

 

Francesco Ferretti, Ph.D.

Hopkins Marine Station

Stanford University

Pacific Grove, CA, USA

 

 

Dr. Andrew B. Gill

Senior Lecturer

Environmental Science and Technology Department

Cranfield University

Bedfordshire, United Kingdom

 

 

Eileen D. Grogan, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology

Research Associate: Carnegie Museum

The Academy of Natural Sciences

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

 

 

Dr. Samuel H. Gruber

Director, Bimini Biological Field Station, South Bimini, Bahamas,

Founder IUCN Shark Specialist Group,

Founder American Elasmobranch Society,

Professor Emeritus University of Miami,

USA

 

 

George J. Guillen, Ph.D.

Executive Director and Associate Professor Environmental Science and Biology

Environmental Institute of Houston

University of Houston Clear Lake

Houston, Texas, USA

 

 

Dr. Richard L. Haedrich

Professor emeritus, Memorial University,

St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador,

Canada

 

 

Dr. Neil Hammerschlag,

Research Assistant Professor,

Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science

Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy

Director, R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program

University of Miami, Florida,

USA

 

 

Dr. Michael Heithaus

Director, School of Environment, Arts and Society,

Florida International University,

Miami, Florida, USA

 

 

Dr. Mauricio Hoyos Padilla

Pelagios-Kakunjá A.C.

La Paz, B.C.S., México

 

 

Dr. Robert Hueter

Director, Center for Shark Research,

Associate Vice President for Research,

Directorate of Marine Biology and Conservation,

Mote Marine Laboratory,

Sarasota, Florida,

USA

 

 

Dr. Charlie Huveneers

Lecturer and Research Scientist

Flinders University / SARDI – Aquatic Sciences Adelaide,

South Australia, Australia

 

 

Dr. Salvador Jorgensen

Research scientist

Chief Scientist, White Shark Research Initiative

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey, California, USA

 

 

Dr. Stephen M Kajiura

Biological Sciences

Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL, USA

 

 

Dr. Steven Kessel

Post-Doctoral Fellow,

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research,

University of Windsor,

Windsor, Ontario,

Canada

 

 

Vivian Lam

IUCN Shark Specialist Group

Suite 300, 1630 Connecticut Avenue

Washington D.C. 20009

USA

 

 

Dr. Agnès Le Port

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

School of Biological Sciences

The University of Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand

 

 

Dr. Richard Lund,

Research Associate

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Saint Joseph’s University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

 

 

Dr. John W. Mandelman

Research Scientist

John H. Prescott Marine Laboratory

New England Aquarium

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

 

 

Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza

Postdoctoral Researcher,

Ocean Exploration and Deep-Sea Research,

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University,

5600 U.S. 1 North Fort Pierce, Florida 34946

USA

 

 

Dr. John E. McCosker

Chair of Aquatic Biology

California Academy of Sciences

San Francisco, California

USA

 

 

Dr. Henry F. Mollet,

Research Affiliate MLML

R&D Volunteer Husbandry Division

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Pacific Grove, California, USA

 

 

Dr, Elliott A. Norse

President,

Marine Conservation Institute,

2122 112th Avenue NE, Suite B-300,

Bellevue WA 98004

USA

 

 

Dr. Jill A. Olin

Post-Doctoral Fellow,

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research

University of Windsor,

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

 

 

Dr. Daniel Pauly

Professor of Fisheries,

Fisheries Centre,

The University of British Columbia,

Vancouver, British Columbia,

Canada

 

 

Prof. Ellen K. Pikitch, Ph.D.,

Executive Director,

Institute for Ocean Conservation Science

School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000

 

 

Dr. Yvonne Sadovy

Professor,

School of Biological Sciences,

University of Hong Kong,

Pok Fu Lam Road,

Hong Kong

 

 

Dr. Carl Safina,

Blue Ocean Institute

Cold Spring Harbor, New York,

USA

 

 

Dr. Bernard Séret

Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)

Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle

Département Systématique et Evolution

C.P. n° 51

55 rue Buffon

75231 Paris cedex 05

France

 

 

Dr. John Stevens

Research Fellow

CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research

Hobart, Tasmania,

Australia

 

 

Dr. Tracey Sutton

Department of Fisheries Science

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

The College of William & Mary

Gloucester Point, VA 23062

USA

 

 

Dr. Boris Worm

Associate Professor,

Biology Department,

Dalhousie University,

Halifax, Nova Scotia,

Canada

 

Source: White Shark Conservation Trust.