ICCAT negotiations on mako sharks

Press Release

Defra
UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

19. November 2020

—- —- —- —- —- —-

The  International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 2020 fishery management negotiations are currently taking place by correspondence.

The UK has co-sponsored a proposal alongside Canada and Senegal which would provide greater protections for mako sharks, proposing a full retention ban of North Atlantic shortfin mako shark caught in ICCAT-managed fisheries. This is line with clear scientific advice from ICCAT’s own scientific body.

The US and the EU have both put forward their own proposals for the management of the species, which do not include a full retention ban.

At this stage the discussions on mako shark in ICCAT remain open. No vote has taken place.

International Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith said:

We are pushing for stricter protections for mako sharks, and I’m disappointed there isn’t  a consensus on this issue. The UK has co-sponsored a proposal for a ban on landing these important endangered species at the current ICCAT annual meeting.

As a newly independent nation, now able to speak in these global forums in our own right, we will continue to make the case for greater protection of endangered species – on land and in the ocean.

Source: Defra