MALTA NEEDS A PLAN OF ACTION FOR SHARKS
- by: GRAZIELLA CAVLAN - MALTA SHARK RESEARCH PROGRAMME
- recipient: THE GOVERNMENT OF MALTA
We urge the Maltese government to adopt a National Plan of Action for Sharks as required by FAO IPOA - sharks. We also require that all sharks landed in Malta are correctly identified and sold under their proper name and not disguised as other fish. The public need to be made aware that what they are actually buying, might be a species listed as Critically Endangered, as is the squalus acanthias better known in Malta as Mazzola.
From a study which has been carried out in recent years, we are already seeing a trend of sharks being caught as juveniles and therefore haven't yet reproduced to replenish the stocks.
Sharks mature at a late age and after a long gestation period of around 22 months, they give birth to few pups. This is a natural process since sharks are apex predators, so they must be few in numbers. However stocks are easily depleted as a result of this, through overfishing, mass slaughter and wasteful bycatch. 100 million sharks are killed each year all over the world.
In Malta we use longlines for a fishing gear during the tuna season, which manages to catch many sharks as nontargeted species. Although the sharks in Malta are still sold for their meat and therefore not wasted, endangered species are still at risk.
We therefore also urge the government to support studies and help fishers find a better way or a better gear to minimize bycatch.
On the whole we urge the government to take action and help us protect the sharks from extinction and have Malta adopt a sustainable shark fishery.
We, the undersigned are urging the Maltese government to produce a plan of action for sharks as required by the United Nations. The Mediterranean Sea has had a terrifying depletion in shark stocks over the years and now some species face extinction. Malta has a shark fishery, because sharks are either targeted or accidentally caught.
Malta has led Europe in the past, with its shark conservation, when we became the first country to protect the Great White shark, the Basking shark and the Devil ray. We have also supported many scientific proposals, to protect species and reduce their quota.
We are asking you to lead again with a sound plan of action, where Malta can have a sustainable fishery and protect the species which are listed as endangered under the CITES Red List.
We believe Malta can do it and be the nation to pilot this plan of action. Europe drafted its plan of action in December 2008 and Malta can be the first nation to implement this action plan and guide the rest of Europe.
1. Malta is an island situated in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, thus having access to migrations of shark species.
2. We are small and therefore we are able to enforce a 'landing of all catch' rule.
3. Policing of fishing vessels and their catch can be easier since we do not have a vast number of fishers.
Sharks are facing grave difficulties. Over fishing and the finning industry have led to stock depletion all over the world and Europe is no different. The finning regulations in Europe have left room for fishers to land the fins without the carcass. Sharks have been given a bad image from the different shark attack films, which portray the shark as an evil, man eating machine. However sharks are top predators and if they are removed from their ecosystems, then the rest of the species in that ecosystem, will suffer.
We beg you to help us protect our sharks.
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