Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

All eyes on Halifax: Will fishery managers follow scientific recommendations to protect the thorny skate?

Posted on September 19, 2011September 19, 2011 By David Shiffman
Conservation, Science

NAFO's logo

Later today, the annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) begins in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The marine conservation world should pay close attention. NAFO  made history in 2004 by becoming the first regional fisheries management organization to set a shared quota for a shark, skate, or ray fishery, but the future of that legacy is in question.

A thorny problem

The main species in the NAFO skate fishery is the thorny skate, which is Critically Endangered in U.S. waters according to the IUCN red list. NAFO is deserving of praise for creating a “total allowable catch (TAC)” for an elasmobranch in the first place, but the current TAC is much higher than what the NAFO scientific council recommends : The TAC is currently 12,000 metric tons, but the scientific council recommends a TAC of 5,000 metric tons. Incidentally, 5,000 metric tons is pretty close to what reported catches have been recently.

Players to watch

The European Union: Spain is one of the largest participants in the NAFO skate fishery, but the European Community Plan of Action for Sharks states that the EU will follow scientific advice in making their elasmobranch fisheries policy.

Canada: Our neighbor to the north is also a major participant in the skate fishery, but they also stress the importance of following scientific advice when making fisheries policy

The United States: Our representatives have been leading the charge for science-based management of thorny skates and other animals, and have previously advocated for the thorny skate TAC to be at the levels recommended by the scientific council.

Stay tuned

I’ll post a short follow-up piece on the outcome of the NAFO meeting early next week. Shark Advocates International President Sonja Fordham will be attending the meeting as a conservation community representative on the United States government delegation. Shark Advocates International has coordinated getting numerous conservation NGOs to sign letters to the players listed above urging  them to heed the scientific council’s advice.

Concerned citizens from EU nations and Canada still have time to contact their fisheries ministers to ask them to follow the scientific council’s recommendation of a skate TAC no more than 5,000 metric tons.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about this issue, please post them below and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: European Union NAFO northwest atlantic fisheries organization regional fisheries management organizations shark advocates international skate sonja fordham thorny skate

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Proposed fishery increase could harm critically endangered thorny skates
Next Post: Shark Science Monday: WhySharksMatter discusses social media and shark conservation ❯

You may also like

Science
5 things to know about stingray barbs, this month’s 3D printed reward!
May 29, 2018
Conservation
What the $&!* happened? A summary of the “contradictory, confusing, and inconsistent” EU finning ban votes
September 24, 2012
Science
What can be done to protect the incredibly long-lived Greenland shark?
August 16, 2016
Conservation
Was CITES COP16 a game-changer for online outreach at wildlife management meetings?
March 18, 2013

Recent Popular Posts

The story of the pride flag made from NASA imagery: Bluesky's most-liked imageThe story of the pride flag made from NASA imagery: Bluesky's most-liked imageSeptember 27, 2024David Shiffman
Marine Biology Career AdviceMarine Biology Career AdviceMay 30, 2025David Shiffman
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
UN Ocean Conference Manu ChampionshipUN Ocean Conference Manu ChampionshipJune 5, 2025Angelo Villagomez
I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.June 21, 2021Andrew Thaler
Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)September 7, 2010Andrew Thaler
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
Megalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentaryMegalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentaryAugust 7, 2014David Shiffman
A quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyA quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyFebruary 7, 2024Andrew Thaler
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown