Endangered Porbeagle Shark Remains Unprotected as Canada Blocks ICCAT Decision, Silky Shark and Seabirds Fare Better

November 19th, 2011 

Istanbul, Turkey – For the third year in a row, Canada stood alone in blocking a proposal to stop fishing for the endangered porbeagle shark. The 2011 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) ended today, with Canada finding itself isolated among the 48 countries that collectively manage fishing in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The EU, the only other fleet landing substantial amounts of porbeagle, took decisive action earlier this year to officially end fishing for this shark and at ICCAT, the EU proposed once again to end fishing throughout the Atlantic by asking Canada to get on board.

“Canada’s position is completely baffling,” says Shannon Arnold, Marine Coordinator of the Nova Scotia based Ecology Action Centre, who attended the meeting. “Over the years, Canada has taken a leading role in pushing ICCAT to adopt good practices in management and data collection for tuna and swordfish fisheries.” 

Porbeagle is an exceptionally vulnerable, slow growing shark that has been reduced to only 20% of its 1960s population in the North West Atlantic. With no fishing or incidental catch, the population will take between 30-60 years to recover to a healthy state. Canada’s decision this weeks means that the porbeagle will not recover for more than a century, provided fishing levels do not increase. 

“Public support in Canada for shark conservation is growing. Even in central Canada municipalities are restricting the sale of shark fins, says Arnold. “ In addition, this is not a lucrative fishery in Canada with only a handful of fishermen licensed to fish porbeagle who have not been catching their quota for the last few years.”

While failing to protect porbeagle, ICCAT member States agreed on protective measures for silky sharks and seabirds caught as bycatch by swordfish and tuna fleets. A ‘no data, no fishing’ policy was also adopted, prohibiting countries from fishing if they do not report the required information on each fishery on an annual basis. These measures will improve ICCATs ecosystem based management as well as ensuring transparency and accountability for catch data.  

In addition to member States, several environmental conservation organizations attend ICCAT and are able to interact with national delegates as well as representatives of the fishing industry.

“Civil society engagement is certainly an important aspect of reminding countries of their international commitments,” says Arnold. “It also means that government staff are supported in being accountable to citizens, and not just those who benefit financially from the publicly owned fisheries resources.” 

With the responsibility for managing tuna and swordfish fisheries, worth hundreds of millions in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and with dwindling stock status for many species, ICCAT has faced increasing pressure during its last several meetings to demonstrate that difficult, conservation based decisions can be reached and upheld by member States.

For more information contact:

Shannon Arnold, Marine Program Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre

Email: sharnold@ecologyaction.ca

Phone: +1 902 446 4840

Brief on Ecology Action Centre recommendations to ICCAT 2011

http://www.ecologyaction.ca/files/images/file/Marine/EACRecsforICCAT2011.pdf

 The Ecology Action Centre (EAC) is Atlantic Canada’s oldest and largest environmental organization, celebrating 40 years of action in 2011. The Marine Issues Committee of the Ecology Action Centre works locally, nationally and internationally towards conserving and protecting marine ecosystems and maintaining sustainable fisheries and vibrant coastal communities.

The EAC is the only Canadian NGO to attend ICCAT as international observers. ICCAT manages the swordfish and tuna fisheries in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Oceans with 50 contracting countries. These fisheries also catch millions of tonnes of sharks as bycatch – animals that are not their target catch – every year on top of their allowed target quotas. Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, like ICCAT, have a responsibility to also adopt measures to avoid by-catch, minimize waste and discards, and mitigate the effects of fishing on the marine environment. Conservation groups attend the meeting to ensure that negotiations include ecosystem considerations.

The 2011 ICCAT meeting just closed in Istanbul, Turkey and ran from November 11-19th.