Sharks

Pew Environment Group Urges Stronger Action to Save Bluefin Tuna and Sharks, Regrets Failure of International Fisheries Commission

Porto de Galinhas, Brazil - 11/15/2009 - After meeting for ten days, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) refused to end fishing for Atlantic bluefin tuna. Instead, ICCAT set the catch limit for bluefin, considered the most valuable fish in the sea, at 13,500.

Member countries also agreed on only one measure that will help conserve sharks in the Atlantic, a ban on the retention and landing of big eye threshers, but Mexico was granted an exemption to catch 110 of these vulnerable sharks.    » read more »

Washington, DC - 04/22/2009 - The Pew Environment Group today applauded Senator John Kerry’s (D-MA) introduction of the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (companion of legislation introduced in the House by Rep. Madeline Bordallo of Guam) on the day before the EU Fisheries Ministers consider a new Plan of Action for Sharks that covers all European Union Member States’ waters.

“Sharks, the top predators in the marine environment, are rapidly disappearing from the world’s oceans,” said Joshua S. Reichert, Managing Director of the Pew Environment Group. “We are hopeful that this week’s events mark a turning point where governments around the world will take concrete steps to stop the widespread killing of these animals.”    » read more »

Brussels, Belgium - 02/05/2009 - The Shark Alliance is celebrating today’s release of the European Commission’s Plan of Action for the Conservation of Sharks which sets the stage for sweeping improvements in European Union (EU) shark fishing and protection policies.

The Plan aims to improve information about shark fisheries, end shark overfishing, pay special attention to threatened shark species, and close loopholes in the EU ban on shark finning (the wasteful practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea). The EU Shark Plan includes actions at national, EU and international levels.    » read more »

Brussels, Belgium - 12/03/2007 - This month, the Shark Alliance is welcoming a suite of opportunities to secure a brighter future for beleaguered shark species, particularly those within Europe. Through deliberation of EU proposals and overlapping international discussion of global action, these exceptionally vulnerable animals are at last getting some long overdue attention.    » read more »

Brest, France - 11/26/2007 - European marine scientists at a weekend shark and ray conference signed a Statement of Concern calling for improved European shark policies, bringing the total number of signatories over the 100 mark.    » read more »

One-Hour Special Premieres Monday, September 3 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT

Backs Proposals For International Trade Restrictions On Spiny Dogfish And Porbeagle Sharks

June 11, 2007 -- (THE HAGUE, Netherlands) – Continuing its longstanding strong support for the conservation of sharks, the United States voted for proposals by the European Union to list two commercially harvested shark species under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Threatened and Endangered Species (CITES).    » read more »