Shark Alliance
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[edit] Organisation
The Shark Alliance is a not-for-profit coalition founded in 2006 of non-governmental organizations dedicated to restoring and conserving shark populations by improving European fishing policy. Because of the influence of Europe in global fisheries and the importance of sharks in ocean ecosystems, these efforts have the potential to enhance the health of the marine environment in Europe and around the world.
The mission of the Shark Alliance is two-fold:
• To close loopholes in European policy regarding the wasteful and unsustainable practice of shark finning;
• To secure responsible, science-based shark fishing limits for long-term sustainability and ecosystem health.[1]
[edit] Sharks at Risk
Over the past 20 years over fishing has caused a dramatic reduction of shark populations worldwide, in many species over 65% of all individuals have disappeared, in some populations this percentage is even higher. It is estimated that every year a 100 million sharks are caught in fisherman's nets.
Sharks are mainly caught for their meat and fins; the meat is sold throughout Europe. France, Spain, Italy, Germany &the UK are all large consumers of sharks. The fins are exclusively sold to Asia where they are highly prized as the main ingredient in Shark Fin Soup.
Because of their life history sharks are especially vulnerable to stock depletion. They take a long time to mature (some species take over 20 years to reach sexual maturity) and produce only a small number of pups (as few as 2 per year). This is why shark populations take a very long time to recover from over fishing.
[edit] Sharks & Europe
Europe is home to some of the world’s largest fishing fleets and its powerful fisheries officials exert influence on international fishing restrictions in many regions of the globe. As a result, poor European shark policies and enforcement pose threats to sharks not only in European waters but in other parts of the world as well.
Improved fisheries management within Europe is key to conserving sharks all over the world. Given that most sharks and rays migrate and are fished by vessels from multiple countries including member states, binding international measures particularly EU catch limits, are essential to their conservation.[2]
In 1999 the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations launched an International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (IPAO-sharks). In this plan member states are asked to prepare legislation in which they seek to regulate shark catches and prevent stock depletion. It has taken the EU almost 10 years to take this message to heart and is working on its own Community Plan of Action on Sharks; the final version of this plan is expected in December 2008. The Shark Alliance is working to ensure that the EU Shark Plan provides for key safeguards such as precautionary catch limits and a stronger finning ban.
[edit] European Shark Week
To raise public awareness about the dramatic decline of shark species and Europe’s role in the process the Shark Alliance proclaimed 8-14 October 2007 to be the first European Shark Week. Using the slogan 'Every Fin Counts!' members of the public where asked to take part in events and sign a petition asking the fisheries commission of the EU for better regulation to protect sharks. During European Shark Week over 100 events were organised around Europe by Shark Alliance members. At the end of the campaign over 20.000 signatures were presented to the fisheries commission.
Due to the large success of the first European Shark Week the Shark Alliance has decided to repeat the event in 2008. ESW 2008 will be held from 13 to 19 October. This year member groups are calling on their fisheries ministers to support a strong Community Plan of Action for Sharks.
[edit] Member Groups
As of May 2008 the Shark Alliance consists of 50 NGOs from 10 different EU countries
1. APECE (Portugal) [1]
2. APECS (France)[2]
3. Coral Reef Care (The Netherlands)[3]
4. CRAM Foundation (Spain)[4]
5. CTS (Italy)[5]
6. Deepwave (Germany)[6]
7. Deutsche Elasmobranchier Gesellschaft (D.E.G.) (Germany)[7]
8. European Elasmobranch Association [8]
9. Fédération Française d’Etudes et de Sports Sous-Marine (France)[9]
10. Friends of the Earth Europe [10]
11. Fondazione Cetacea (Italy)[11]
12. GRIS [12]
13. GSM (Germany) [13]
14. Iemanya Oceanica (Mexico) [14]
15. Longitude 181 (France)[15]
16. Manta Ray & Whale Shark Research Centre (Mozambique)[16]
17. Marevivo (Italy)[17]
18. MarViva (Costa Rica)[18]
19. MedSharks (Italy) [19]
20. Megaptera (France) [20]
21. Noe Conservation, (France) [21]
22. Stichting Noordzee (North Sea Foundation) (The Netherlands) [22]
23. Oceana (Europe) [23]
24. Ocean Conservancy (USA) [24]
25. Pacific Environment (USA, China) [25]
26. PADI International [26]
27. Pew Charitable Trusts (USA)[27]
28. Project AWARE Foundation (International) [28]
29. Protect the Sharks (The Netherlands)[29]
30. Quercus (Portugal) [30]
31. ROC (France)[31]
32. Save our Sharks (UK)[32]
33. SACN: Sea Anglers Conservation Network (UK) [33]
34. SSACN: Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (UK)[34]
35. Seas at Risk (EU wide)[35]
36. sharkCHANCE (Germany)[36]
37. Shark Foundation (Switzerland)[37]
38. Sharklife (South Africa)[38]
39. Sharkman’s World (Malta)[39]
40. Shark Research Institute, Princeton, USA [40]
41. Shark Trust (UK) [41]
42. Slow Food (Italy) [42]
43. SOS Grand Blanc (France) [43]
44. South African Shark Conservancy [44]
45. Swedish Elasmobranch Society [45]
46. Utila Whale Shark Research (Honduras) [46]
47. UK Shark Tagging Programme [47]
48. VDST (Germany) [48]
49. Vivamar (Slovenia) [49]
50. WildAid (International) [50]
[edit] External links
• Shark Alliance [51]
• IUCN Shark Specialist Group [52]
• AUF (Great Australian Shark Count)[53]
• European Shark Week website [54]
• CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)[55]
• Lenfest Ocean Program [56] • European Commission Directorate-General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs [57]
• Guardian 30 aug 2006: Sharks pay high price as demand for fins soars [58]
• BBC news 31 aug 2006: Shark-finning measures 'too weak'[59]
• BBC news 14 march 2008:High hopes for EU shark proposals [60]
