Conservation Measures for Threatened Species Approved at International Meeting of Fishing Regulators
An Oceanic Whitetip Shark (carcharhinus longimanus). According to CITES, fishing pressure has led to an estimated 70% decline in the the species' North Atlantic population over the past ten years. (CITES)
(AP) Fishing nations at an Atlantic conservation conference in Paris took measures Saturday to protect sea turtles and several types of sharks, environmental groups said.
Conservation groups Oceana and the Pew Environment Group said representatives of 48 countries at the international meeting have banned fishermen from catching and retaining oceanic whitetip sharks in the Atlantic.
Delegates also moved to protect several types of hammerhead sharks and will also require countries to keep data on catches of shortfin mako sharks.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (or ICCAT) sets regulations on fishing of tuna and other species that have traditionally been accidental catches for tuna fishermen in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Later Saturday, the commission is expected to make a decision on fishing quotas for the Atlantic bluefin tuna, which environmental groups say is threatened.
Experts say the rise of Asia's middle class, combined with the continent's penchant for pricey shark fin soup, a traditional delicacy, has turned sharks into a lucrative target.
While ICCAT and other regional commissions regulate fishing, trade bans are handled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (or CITES).
Environmentalists were sorely disappointed by a CITES meeting in March, where six species of sharks failed to get protection despite studies showing their numbers had fallen by up to 85 percent because of the booming fin trade.
© MMX The Associated Press.