Europe not afraid of sharks – We protect them

Tisková zpráva Press Release Communiqué de presse

Prague, 24 April 2009
 

Europe not afraid of sharks – We protect them

The Agriculture and Fisheries Council adopted the conclusions and supported the Action Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks. The plan affects not only sharks but all cartilaginous fish.

The Action Plan, for instance, tightens the ban on catching sharks just for their fins and it will apply in all waters where EU vessels sail. Besides protecting shark populations and defining areas where there is a complete ban on shark catches the plan should create a better understanding of the role sharks play in the ecosystem. The Czech Presidency made a considerable contribution to speeding up the debate and adopting conclusions.

The European Commission presented the Action Plan on the Conservation and Management of sharks on 6 February and the Presidency immediately began to discuss it in its working bodies.

Especially the protection of deep-sea sharks that are fished for meat but also valuable liver oil, which is used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry, is of importance. The plan includes a proposal for a ban on shark catches solely for fins, which are used for a famous culinary specialty, and determination of areas where shark catches should be banned. “The ban on shark catches is in existence since 2005 and these new rules make it stricter and eliminate room for exceptions. For instance, for the purpose of easier record-keeping it will not be able to bring shark fins without shark bodies to the port,” explains Minister Gandalovič.

These measures should apply to all cartilaginous fish and not just sharks and they will be effective in all localities where EU vessels sail and not only in European waters. “The action plan further intends to focus on shark life and environment research. Information on the role of sharks in the ecosystem and the development of their population should be used to determine quotas for the fishing efforts, protection of endangered species and application of existing agreements on protection of freely living animals to sharks,” explains First Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ivo Hlaváč.

According to the UN, tens of millions of sharks are killed every year across the world. Scientists estimate that 90% of all large fish, including sharks, have disappeared from the seas of the world since 1950. Furthermore, sharks reproduce very slowly and it will take decades before numbers are replenished in the areas where they were exterminated. A recent survey from the International Union for Conservation of Nature shows that overfishing presently threatens one third of the species of shark that are caught in EU waters.

Tereza Dvorácková
Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Agriculture