Major step to save sharks |12 December 2007
The effort is being supported by the CMS secretariat, Australia, New Zealand, Germany,
“We want to develop some kind of agreement. An international cooperation on migratory species under which the sharks can be protected,” principal secretary for Environment, Didier Dogley, said, noting that in 2006, Seychelles enacted a law prohibiting the finning of sharks by commercial vessels, and that the country has just apprehended a Taiwanese ship which has been fined US $45,000 for illegal possession of shark fins.
Sharks are a particularly vulnerable group of species as they have a slow growth rate, are late to mature and have a low rate of population increase. This means they need a long time to recover from heavy depletion. Their main threat is overfishing, but they also fall victim to changes in predator/prey abundance due to fisheries interactions, ship strikes, entanglement in marine debris and pollution and are believed to be victims of climate change with the rest of the biodiversity.
Mr Dogley said that recent trends show most species of sharks to be in sharp decline.
“Shark fisheries can perhaps be seen as one of the last unregulated harvests of wildlife on earth. The usual arguments about the ‘tragedy of the commons’ seem to apply.
“Everyone knows something tangible has to be done to conserve sharks. No one wants to be the first, or to act unselfishly if others are likely to move in and take over any share of the existing harvest voluntarily given up by conservation-minded states,” he said.
In his speech to launch the conference, Education Minister Bernard Shamlaye, standing in for the Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Transport, Joel Morgan, who is out of the country, said that Seychelles takes conservation very seriously.
“We are a Small Island Developing State and conservation is a pillar of our livelihood and development. Our main industries – fisheries and tourism – depend on our natural environment. Our way of life and the quality of life in our islands depend on the healthy state of our environment.
“For us, it is important that when we do something we do it properly and in a sustainable manner. As a nation, we are not against the use of natural resources, but we do believe in proper management and stewardship of these resources,” he said.
Minister Shamlaye went on to say that shark meat is part of Seychellois cuisine but stressed that traditional fisheries is not a threat to sharks.
“We can exploit these species sustainably. It is when we move to targeted fisheries and by-catch, that we enter a dangerous zone. This is where the real problem lies and this is where we should all focus our efforts,” he told the delegates at the meeting.
“Seychelles wants to see clear progress made at this meeting. We hope that real commitment is made in order for us to have the strongest agreement possible. It is now already two years since the last Conference of Parties of the Convention on Migratory Species. After such a period of time, we must show real progress; otherwise we run the risk of being regarded as ineffective, just another talk shop,” the minister said, adding that the effective management of migratory sharks can only happen through international cooperation.
“This is a shared resource that we are dealing with and there is no other way to address the issue. This meeting offers a real opportunity for us to tackle a common global problem and we can tackle that problem, if we are prepared to work together for our mutual benefit and – of course, for the benefit of the sharks.
Mr Shamlaye pledged that Seychelles will remain committed to the cause and will devote time and energy to follow up on the recommendations coming out of the three-day meeting.
Minister Shamlaye thanked the CMS secretariat and the governments of Australia, the UK, Germany and France for providing financial assistance and all who have helped with the local preparation for the meeting.