Shark Discards - Yes or No?

Source.

Do you agree that discards are madness?

And if it's a bycaught Shark - keep or throw away?

I say, if it is alive: release it if it's both endangered and protected, and keep it if it's neither. 

But what if it's endangered but not adequately protected? And what if it's endangered but already dead - discard  only the protected ones, discard them all, or keep them all as they are already dead anyway?

Thorny thorny!

Did you follow this story?

A fish monger had the audacity to legally buy, and then try and sell a 15ft, 250 kg Common Thresher that had died in a net - and the usual wailing hyenas went absolutely berserk. The abuse became so extreme to include death threats and threats to burn down his home and business premises. The intimidated fish monger has stopped marketing the Shark (the question being, did he end up throwing it away?) and has pledged to donate any profits to a marine conservation agency.

First things first.

This is a fucking disgrace and I sure hope everybody agrees.

What that fisherman and the fish monger did is perfectly legal, and the abuse, let alone the threats heaped upon them are simply unacceptable - or are we now gonna start condoning, promoting and applauding doing the same to every single fisherman, fish monger and sushi restaurant that trade in those threatened Atlantic and Southern Bluefin, and Bigeye Tuna? How about the European Eel?

And the list goes on and on and on...

The good people at the Shark Trust are perfectly correct.

The consumers can send a strong message by refusing to buy those products irrespective of their legality - and many of course already do, and the trade is shifting as a result.
Of course it's equally a disgrace that like in the case of those Tuna, the fisheries authorities have not implemented science-based catch limits and the provision of special protection for those threatened Shark species - but then, be angry at them, not at some poor sod that is trying to make a buck, and this perfectly legally!

And anyway.

How about you stop foaming at the mouth and for once channel all that energy to where it will have a real effect. Support the Shark Trust's and the Shark Alliance's efforts to reform the European fisheries laws - and this not only with noise but also with donations as those causes are bloody lengthy and expensive to run, and those conservation folks got families to feed, too. Or get involved and actually do something! Or if yer too bloody busy, stop complaining and at least go to the polls - and then vote in politicos that champion ecological causes!

And the dead bycatch?

Are we really gonna throw away food that is perfectly good, albeit only if consumed in moderation - or may there be other, maybe a tad more unconventional solutions?

As I said: thorny thorny!

More about Fin & Finning Bans!

Heureka!

David aka WhySharksMatter must be over the moon!

If you thought that Southern Fried Science was the exclusive realm of a cabal of blogging eggheads (and bloody Liberals!), think again!

His latest post about the European Shark finning ban has now clearly gone mainstream, as witnessed by the avalanche of insightful comments that are clearly propelling Shark conservation to the next level. Please do participate in the lively debate and do not forget to add plenty of IMPORTANT statements in CAPS LOCK, true to the cosmic rule of thumb that the more CAPS LOCKs, the more Sharks are being saved!

Love it!

Elsewhere, the disinformation campaign by the fin industry continues.

This time we got ourselves a veritable professor, Dai Xiaojie, from the Shanghai Ocean University no less, and you can read his regurgitations here or in a more translated version here. 

True to the usual strategy of mixing fact and fiction, the man is once again certainly crafty when he talks about inevitable accidental bycatch (true, but it can be greatly reduced!) and the waste of throwing away food, etc etc. Where he is clearly lying or simply doesn't understand what is talking about (yes such things are known to happen!) is here and I cite.

Despite the overcapacity in fishing, if a shark is still alive when caught, we should set it free. But the reality is, most of the sharks are already dead due to lack of oxygen or entanglement. In this case, the dead sharks should be used, including their fins.
Otherwise, it would be a waste of resources.

(Caps lock!) TOTAL BOLLOCKS!

Especially when longlining for Tuna, soak time is kept at the absolute minimum in order to bring up the Tuna alive where they are much more valuable - and consequently, the vast majority of Sharks are caught alive (we've all seen the videos!) and if released, they have a very high chance of survival!

It is also a well known practice in the global Tuna longline industry to pay minimum wages (if at all) to the crews but to let them keep and sell the (finned) Shark fins. As a consequence, those crews engage in targeted fishing for Sharks by adding wire leaders, changing the bait and also the depth of the lines, etc. The industry has a great vested interest in allowing this as it reduces their overhead and even adds income as traditionally, 20-25% of the proceeds go to the boat owners.

And what about the retention of the dead Sharks (fins and meat)?

Although logical, it opens up a huge loophole requiring 100% coverage by (incorruptible) observers and constitutes the exact mechanism bemoaned by the hypocritical professor whereby law enforcement costs would increase dramatically!

Until better management measures are being put into place, I reiterate that those fin bans remain the best, most practicable and easiest, and thus cheapest to enforce solution - especially in the lesser developed countries where the bulk of the slaughter takes place!

Coming from him, the appeal to reduce overfishing and IUU, whilst true and urgently mandated is just hollow rhetoric aimed at detracting from the problem at hand and prolonging any meaningful Shark conservation measures ad infinitum.

Anyway, just my two cents as usual.

Please keep commenting on David's post.

And don't forget the IMPORTANT CAPS LOCK!

For the Sharks!! Fins Up and all! ~~ ~:) ~ ><> ~ ><))).> ~♥~ ~ >~xo:] ~ >><> x ~~

Europe - big Progress!

Looks like Europe is starting to listen.

Just got this link from the Alex the Sharkman.
Congratulations to The European Fisheries Commission where I continue to be a fan - and yes, to the Shark Alliance as well. This is not a done deal quite yet as it is only a proposal and the national Fisheries Ministers have to ratify it, so here's to those guys doing the right thing.

And there's more good news for Sharks.
The European Union has signed the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species Memorandum of Understanding for Sharks. Again, it's not the finished thing but certainly big progress.

Kudos.
I must say that coupled with the Shark protection measures in Florida, the Silky Shark protection by ICCAT and the protection of the Porbeagle in Europe, this past week has been pretty awesome!

So who's next?

Eu Finning Regulations - Decision pending!

Please read this.
It's only one, albeit important element in a whole list of improvements to Europe's Shark conservation laws that are being advocated by the Shark Alliance.

The decision is today.
Fingers crossed!