West Africa’s sharks risk extinction

Afriquenligne 

Dakar, Senegal – The uncontrolled catching of sharks in West Africa may cause the extinction of some of the species, according to Mika Diop, Fisheries Biologist and Co-ordinator of the Sharks Sub-regional Action Plan (PSRA-Sharks).

“As there has been a strong development of fisheries for these species in the last 20 years for fins exported to Asia and for the meat consumed in Ghana and Nigeria, there are significant catches threatening the stocks,” Diop said here Tuesday, at the opening of a training workshop for technicians from eight African countries in Dakar.

According to the scientist, sharks capture has dropped since 2002 due to the development of traditional fisheries but also due to “the very particular biology of these species, marked by an extraordinary longevity, a very low fecundity and a very slow growth”.

He said about 100, 000 tonnes of sharks were captured annually in the West African sub-region, noting however there had been a reduction in catches.

“Lower captures stand now at 50% in West Africa, against the 90s figures.” Diop said, explaining for instance that catches in Senegal fell from 10, 000 tonnes to 7, 400 tonnes between 2001 and 2002.

On his part, Bernard Seret, Researcher at the Institute of Research for Development (IRD), said the development of sharks fisheries in West Africa was boosted by Asia’s growing demand for fins.

Denouncing the poor management of the resource, Seret called for harmonised rules in the sub-region.

“We can no longer allow the uncontrolled use of the resources because they do not only belong to the fishermen but also to humanity,” he warned.

Sharks are described as the sea policemen as they don’t have any predators and are only threatened by fishing activities.

Even though there is a sub-regional action plan on the conservation and sustainable management of sharks species, experts said only Senegal and Guinea had so far adopted them.

Taiwan, China join to save rare sea bird from extinction

GMA News (AP)

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwanese and mainland Chinese conservationists are joining hands to save an endangered sea bird from extinction by urging fishermen to stop collecting and eating the birds’ eggs, a Taiwanese birdwatcher said Monday.

The Chinese crested tern – white with a black-and-white crest – migrates to eastern Chinese coasts between May and September, Taiwanese conservationists say. It’s thought the birds fly there to escape the heat in South Asia, although they have not been seen outside of China or Taiwan.

The sea bird was spotted for the first time in 2000 on the Taiwan-controlled Matsu island – just 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) from China’s southeastern coast. Matsu authorities have since stepped up monitoring the bird and set aside several locations in the island group as sanctuaries.

Taiwanese have stopped eating sea birds’ eggs in recent years, but Chinese fishermen often sneak onto Matsu to collect the eggs, which are prized as a delicacy in parts of China, said Chang Shou-hua, head of the Matsu Birdwatching Society.

”Sea birds’ eggs are smelly and infected with parasites, and when fishermen collect the eggs in the grass they disrupt the birds’ breeding habitats,” Chang said.

A Chinese survey conducted over recent successive breeding seasons found that the number of crested terns had fallen to 50 birds, about half the population found three years ago, according to Birdlife International, a conservation group based in Cambridge, England. The group warns that the crested tern could become extinct in five years if protection efforts are not stepped up.

Taiwanese birders recently sought to collaborate with mainland conservationists after learning the bird has appeared along the coasts of China’s Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces, said Chang.

A group of conservationists from Jiushan islands off east China visited the Matsu sanctuary two months ago and agreed to strive for the bird’s preservation, first by seeking legislation to bar fishermen from collecting the sea bird’s eggs, Chang said.

The Chinese and Taiwanese have also agreed to begin a joint survey next summer – during the birds’ migration period – to determine the size of their population, he said.

Taiwanese conservationists are studying whether to use global positioning system to track down the sea bird’s mysterious migration routes, Chang said.

Call for urgent action after fishing vessel catches 12 critically endangered Chatham albatrosses

Wildlife Extra

September 2007. The killing of 34 albatrosses by a fishing boat east of New Zealand demonstrates the need for urgent action to stop albatross by-catch in fisheries. A long-line vessel caught 12 critically endangered Chatham albatrosses as well as 22 Salvin’s albatrosses.

Forest & Bird Advocacy Manager Kevin Hackwell says the high level of seabird by-catch by this vessel was totally unacceptable. ‘Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton has said in response to this incident that he is considering regulating to ensure all fishing vessels adopt best practice to avoid seabird by-catch, and that he is instructing his officials to identify what constitutes best practice’.

‘While Forest & Bird supports the minister’s actions, we already know what best practice is. We already know that mitigation measures – including weighting fishing lines, setting lines only at night, not discharging fish waste, and using bird-scaring lines – reduce seabird by-catch deaths by up to 90%. We call on the minister to act urgently to implement mandatory mitigation measures to prevent further disasters. Many other countries already require mandatory by-catch mitigation measures. Although many vessels complied with a voluntarily code of practice, the exceptions could result in slaughter of seabirds that put critically endangered species further at risk of extinction, Kevin Hackwell says.

‘The minister refers to this as an ‘accident’ but without mandatory requirements to use mitigation measures, this was an accident waiting to happen. The minister must act urgently to ensure no further ‘accidents’ occur.’

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Chatham Island albatross facts

• The Chatham Island albatross (Thalassarche eremite, aka Chatham Island mollymawk) nests only on a single rocky island, The Pyramid, off the Chatham Islands, where just 5000 pairs are breeding. It is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN (World Conservation Union).
• Chatham Island albatrosses are threatened by fishing by-catch and habitat degradation.
• The recent by-catch deaths are likely to contribute to population decline of Chatham Island albatross in the next few years – its critical status means it is highly vulnerable to the risk of irreversible population decline and extinction.