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International agreements with the promise to conserve sharks include:
- United Nation Food and Agriculture Organization International Plan of Action for Sharks (UN FAO IPOA–Sharks) (see below).
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (see below).
- Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or the Bonn Convention) (see below).
In 1999, the UN FAO adopted the IPOA-Sharks with the aim of ensuring the conservation, management, and long-term sustainable use of the species.
It calls on fishing nations to develop national plans of action (NPOAs) for sharks that provide for:
- sustainable catch
- data collection
- stakeholder consultation
- waste minimisation
- biodiversity protection
- ecosystem preservation
- special attention to threatened and vulnerable populations.
Nations are also encouraged to cooperate bilaterally and internationally, through regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) to develop international shark action plans for the world’s various ocean regions.
The IPOA-Sharks, however, is voluntary and progress toward implementation has been pitifully slow. So far, years after the 2001 due date, no RFMOs and only a handful of nations have heeded its calls. Indeed, no EU Member States have developed NPOAs for sharks.
Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES)
CITES provides an international legal framework for preventing trade in endangered species and regulating trade in species at risk. CITES Parties convene every two to two-and-a-half years to amend three appendices, which list species at risk. Proposals to list, down-list or de-list species are proposed by Member governments and require a two-thirds majority for adoption.
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CITES listings - what they mean
- Appendix I is reserved for species threatened with extinction that are or may be affected by trade. Listing under Appendix I essentially amounts to a ban on international trade.
- Appendix II includes species that, although not necessarily under current threat of extinction may become so unless trade is strictly controlled. Appendix II listings serve to monitor and limit trade to sustainable levels through requirements for export permits and non-detriment findings.
- Although rarely used, Appendix III listings are imposed by individual countries without the need for approval by other Parties and serve to encourage cooperation from other Parties in controlling trade in species of concern.
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Shark proposals and listings
Through a series of Resolutions and Decisions, CITES has maintained a prominent role in global shark conservation since 1994.
In 1997, a US proposal to ban trade in all species of sawfish through a listing on CITES Appendix I failed by a wide margin due largely to resistance to listing marine fish under CITES as well as a lack of trade information.
2002 was the first time that shark species – whale and basking sharks – were added (on the second attempt) to CITES Appendix II, based on proposals from the Philippines and India jointly (whale sharks), and the UK (basking sharks).
In 2004, Australia and Madagascar were successful with their proposal to list great white sharks under CITES Appendix II.
Germany proposed Appendix II-listing of spurdog and porbeagle sharks in 2004, but failed to receive the support within the EU necessary to advance the proposals to the CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP). Germany updated and improved their proposals and in December 2006 received support from most EU Member States. These proposals were submitted to the CITES Secretariat in January 2007, a key step toward consideration at the 2007 CoP.
Delegates at the 2007 CITES CoP will also consider proposals to include snaggletooth sharks and all species of sawfish (shark-like rays) under the CITES Appendices. The former proposal was offered by Australia, the latter by the US, Kenya, and Costa Rica. The EU will form a position on the snaggletooth and sawfish proposals even though snaggletooth sharks are not native to Europe and sawfish are already extinct in European waters.
Reservations
Iceland and Norway joined Japan in taking reservations on all three shark listings under CITES. Indonesia and the Republic of Korea also took reservations on the whale and the basking shark listing, while Palau does not accept the white shark listing.
Because of this action, these countries are treated as non-Parties with respect to trade in these species, which means they can still engage in unlimited trade while remaining CITES Parties.
CITES Shark Working Group
The CITES Animals Committee has formed a Shark Working Group and provides regular advice on shark fisheries management priorities, potential listings and shark species at particular risk. In 2004, the group reported favourably on Germany’s proposals for spurdog and porbeagle listings and recommended specific actions for management of North Atlantic populations. Unfortunately, these recommendations have yet to be heeded.
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
CMS allows for the listing of species under two Appendices with the aim of prompting either legally binding ‘agreements’ or less formal ‘memoranda of understanding’.
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CMS listings - what they mean
• CMS Appendix I includes species which are threatened with extinction.
• CMS Appendix II is used for migratory species with ‘unfavorable’ conservation status or those that would significantly benefit from international cooperation.
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Basking, white sharks and whale sharks are listed under both Appendices I and II. Norway opposed both the white and basking shark listings based on lack of scientific evidence showing criteria were met. Denmark supported the basking shark listing, but took a reservation on behalf of the Faroe Islands, meaning that the listing will not apply there. The EU supported the basking shark listing, but took a reservation based on an inability to meet associated deadlines. Protection for white and basking sharks throughout EU waters was proposed and widely supported in 2006.
In 2005, CMS adopted a Resolution on Migratory Sharks that urges countries to implement national plans of action for sharks and cooperate to enhance the conservation of migratory sharks. CMS will build on this effort at an international meeting dedicated to shark conservation in late 2007.
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