A paper published in the journal Marine Policy shows that 97% of sharks captured domestically by European, North African and Middle Eastern countries fleets are not reported by species. This means that protections afforded by IUCN status cannot be enforced. In addition, the researchers discovered that there is effectively no accounting for sharks caught as bycatch.
Florida state wildlife commission voted Wednesday to impose restrictions on shore based shark fishing. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which met in Fort Lauderdale, voted unanimously to create much stricter rules for shore based shark fishing. The exact rules will be drawn up at a later date, but may include licenses for shore based shark fishing as well as restrictions on gear that may be used for fishing.
A study published in the journal Fisheries Research investigates the beliefs , attitudes and behaviors of land-based shark anglers. The authors studied posts on an online fishing forum. The posts show that there is a widespread disregard for legal regulation of what they catch. The authors counted 389 examples of “illegal fishing activity” being openly discussed on the forum between 2010 and 2015. ((Image from Shutterstock.)
A Chinese fishing boat with its 20 fisherman has been seized in the Galapagos Islands. The boat held 300 tons of fish, mostly sharks, and is the largest vessel to be seized within the Islands. A judge on the island of San Cristobal has ordered the crew detained until court proceedings commence. The fishermen face up to 3 years if sentenced to trafficking protected species.
The Guardian reports that the Australian government has submitted a reservation against 5 species of shark that were given protection by the CMS agreement last November. (Image by Rich Carey/Shutterstock.com)