In this week’s edition of Shark Science Monday, Nick Dulvy, co-chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, discusses how researchers determine the conservation status of shark species.
If you have a question for Nick, leave it below and I’ll make sure he sees it.
My question for Dr. Dulvy would be as follows:
How do you feel about the science behind determining the status of shark species being considered less important than its economic viability?
I’m speaking as a Canadian, where we have COSEWIC; an independent scientific body who does the research and makes recommendations to our federal government. The government has the final say, and one of the last steps before deciding to list or not is a socio-economic analysis. So a species declared endangered based on hard data will not get protection if there’s money to be made. Conservation-wise, this is frustrating to say the least.
Joseph Pratt
M.Sc. Candidate
University of New Brunswick
Saint John, New Brunswick Canada
This can be deeply frustrating. But unless other people express other values then the economic voice supporting exploitation often appears to be the default posistion in Canada. DFO & COSEWIC have public consultations on proposed species’ status – anyone can respond to these. Where possible the IUCN Shark Specialist Group provide a concensus comment on these status reports. So please take these opportunities to express your opinion as a concerned citizen.