No more Shark Sanctuary in the Marshall Islands?

I was wrong.

The Marshalls are not among the "best" - read the above (= click for detail).

Yes this is not good.

In brief, the Shark protection in the Marshall Islands is quietly being rolled back, and nobody appears to give a rat's ass.
Once again, it's all about the money: the huge earnings, the jobs and the according political clout of the fishing industry versus the money needed for enforcement but also the establishment of  alternative livelihoods.
In fact I remember distinctly how back then, Pew strongly suggested that following the designation as a sanctuary, the Marshalls would become a world-renown mecca for shark tourism like Palau - which has very much unsurprisingly not happened as the logistics for running a dive operation there are just simply totally prohibitive.

And like I said back then, legislation can be reversed - and now it has.

And Pew - anybody anybody?

Yeah, right.

Enforcement of Shark Sanctuaries - Case in Point!

Source.

The noose is definitely slowly tightening on those poachers.

Read this.

If true, this would be an absolutely egregious case of poaching and obstruction - the good news being that they were caught and that if convicted, this will act as a strong deterrent. And, the Marshall Islands would be pocketing a nice chunk of cash that would go a long way towards further improving their monitoring and enforcement.

And failing that, there's always the Indonesian approach, see at top - maybe a tad harsh but it sure send out a message! :)

Well done!

Taiwan and Spain - again!

Albacora Uno - habitual Spanish poacher.

Read this.

Same old same old.
After having annihilated their own Fish stocks, Taiwanese and Spanish distant water vessels are now poaching in the Pacific - and not only them and not only there!

But in the end, it's also our fault.
For some reason I shall never quite comprehend, those nations are given a seat and alas, also a vote within the local RFMOS where they successfully prevent any sensible management measures, like at the last catastrophic meeting of the IATTC. And what is even worse, they are then even accorded fishing licenses where they then proceed to reap and pillage like they have always done, and this very much at the expense of the local fishing industry (and here!).

Huge kudos to the Marshals for having caught them red-handed.
And yes, They are protecting sharks and don't even have a reality TV show!!!

CNN on the Shark Sanctuary in the Marshalls!

Very cool!
As I said: Big Big Big Big!

Big Big Big Big!

The world's largest Shark Sanctuary no less!
Big kudos to the the Republic of the Marshall Islands!

And to Pew, Stefanie and senator Hee!

Great Testimony by Matt!

Oldie but goodie - Whitetail the Sicklefin Lemon by Michael Aw.

From the Pew Environment Group's website.

Matt Rand, director of the Pew Environment Group's Global Shark Conservation campaign, provided testimony for a public hearing on sharks protection led by the Marshall Islands Senate Committee on Resources and Development. He discussed the importance of protecting sharks, explained the basic components of shark sanctuaries and congratulated the Republic of the Marshall Islands for considering the creation of the world's fifth shark sanctuary.

Here's the testimony.
This is once again as good as it gets, factual, exhaustive, compelling - required reading for anybody wanting to advocate pragmatic and science-based Shark conservation away from the usual hyperbole and moronic pseudoscientific drivel. See any reference to the Ocean's oxygen production?
Very well done indeed!

I had to laugh when I saw
The growing demand for the Asian delicacy, shark fin soup, has led to the killing of up to 73 million sharks a year. That number again! Not totally wrong but you may want to re-read this - nobody knows what led to the killing of those Sharks! Detail detail!
Getting there though! :)

I was particularly impressed to read that
Pew would be interested in working with you on (1) educational, (2) enforcement and (3) research needs. We have been talking to the Marshall Islands Conservation Society at the national level and the Micronesia Conservation Trust at the regional level on how we might be of help in these areas.
Totally right down my alley!

Anyway, great that the Marshalls are considering the sanctuary.
And great that good people like Stefanie, Sen. Hee and Pew are there to provide for assistance as and where requested!

The Marshalls Next?

Flag of the Marshall Islands - symbolism here.

Great to see this article!
Having seen the reference to Hawaii's Clayton Hee, I went snooping on the Shark Allies and Pacific Shark Initiative website and lo and behold, found these details. As expected, Stefanie is in the thick of it like she was in Guam and the CNMI - remember?

Any skinny guys in speedos?
Thankfully not - yet! As Shark Allies remark,
They (= some amazing Shark conservationists) may have been invisible (because they don’t have the time to talk about their accomplishments) while others may have been receiving just a bit too much credit based on little more than their name.
Its not always fair.

Indeed!
So here's to Senator Hee and above all, to Stefanie Brendl.
Whilst others bullshit and self promote, she keeps fighting for the Sharks, with tenacity, intelligence and I hear also a big portion of charm - and quietly!

If you want to get to know a bit more about the person, look no further than Shark Allies TV .
Here's Episode 1.



Thank you Stef!
And of course, here's to the Marshall Islands!

Hat tip: Rick - you know why buddy! :)