shark fin soup

The top 10 shark conservation stories of 2011

Posted on by David Shiffman

Caribbean reef shark, Bimini. Photo credit: David Shiffman

2011 was a relatively good year for sharks and rays. Presented below, in no particular order, are ten important shark conservation stories from the past year.

1. Shark sanctuaries. The world gained several new shark sanctuaries, areas where shark fishing is banned, in 2011. Nations creating new shark sanctuaries include Honduras (~92,000 square miles), the Bahamas (~240,000 square miles), Marshall Islands/Guam/Palau (a regional partnership protecting almost 2 million square miles). Numerous concerns about enforcing rules in these huge areas, as well as concerns about potential loopholes in the policies, exist among conservation scientists.

2. Fin bans. These laws ban the possession, trade, or sale of shark fins within the boundaries of a city, state/territory, or country. In 2011, Hawaii’s first-in-the-US fin ban took effect, and a few other US states (California, Washington, and Oregon) passed similar laws. There is an ongoing debate in the shark conservation community about whether blanket bans on finning are better than promoting best practices (i.e. more sustainable shark fishing techniques). Additionally, some are concerned that we aren’t focusing enough on other threats to sharks like bycatch and habitat destruction.

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Pseudoscience Redux: Shark Fin propaganda

Posted on by David Shiffman

This post was originally published on September 9, 2010 as a part of our first Week of Ocean Pseudoscience. Enjoy!

Last weekend, longtime SFS reader Suzy sent me an interesting question. Suzy is Asian, and though she is a committed conservationist, several members of her family regularly eat shark fin soup. One relative just sent her a copy of a news article entitled “Shark Fin Soup: Eat it without guilt” (available here). Suzy asked me if the information in this article is correct, and how she should respond to her family members.

Though it is a few years old, I had never seen this article, and it’s a little shocking. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a better example of distorting or ignoring science to promote a political agenda outside of Fox News. In short, Suzy, most of the information in here is either false or intentionally misleading.

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Hooray for California, but there’s still much work to be done to save sharks

Posted on by David Shiffman

 

Photo credit: Jessica King, Marine Photobank

Earlier today,  the California legislature voted to approve AB 376,  the excitingly titled “act to add section 2021 to the Fish and Game Code,  relating to sharks”. The ocean conservation community is happy,  and we should be. The bill and its backing from Hollywood stars have generated substantial media coverage of the plight of sharks,  and,  if signed into law by the Governor and properly enforced,  it could well save a lot of sharks. However,  fin bans aren’t the perfect solution to the shark conservation crisis,  and we still have a lot of work to do to protect sharks and closely related species around the world.

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Blog-cation Shark news roundup

Posted on by David Shiffman

While we were away, a variety of interesting shark news stories were reported. Here are links to some of my favorites.

It’s been an exciting time for shark conservation.

In addition to the Shark Conservation Act passing the Senate,  the Northern Mariana Islands voted to protect sharks in their waters, and the Phillipines will start protecting thresher sharks and manta rays.

The IUCN shark specialist group also came out with a study recommending a complete ban on shark finning in European Union waters.

A Brazilian NGO called the Environmental Justice Institute is suing to stop illegal shark finning in Brazil.

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Reader mail: Shark Fin propaganda

Posted on by David Shiffman

Last weekend, longtime SFS reader Suzy sent me an interesting question. Suzy is Asian, and though she is a committed conservationist, several members of her family regularly eat shark fin soup. One relative just sent her a copy of a news article entitled “Shark Fin Soup: Eat it without guilt” (available here). Suzy asked me if the information in this article is correct, and how she should respond to her family members.

Though it is a few years old, I had never seen this article, and it’s a little shocking. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a better example of distorting or ignoring science to promote a political agenda outside of Fox News. In short, Suzy, most of the information in here is either false or intentionally misleading.

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Hawaii shark fin bill signed into law!

Posted on by David Shiffman

A few days ago, Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii signed the recently passed shark fin bill into law. Starting on July 1 of 2011 it will be illegal to possess or sell shark fins within the state of Hawaii. Though this law, the strongest shark protection law in North America, is a huge success, we all still have a lot of work to do to protect sharks. We hope that other states will follow Hawaii’s example, and I will keep you posted on how you can help with those efforts.

~WhySharksMatter