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Posté
Samedi 28 Février 2009 par Véronique
On February 5, 2009, the European Community released the long-awaited European Commission's Plan of Action for the Conservation of Sharks.
We thank all those who helped us to achieve this action !
France is one of the leading countries in collecting signatures for the petition, and in organising public events and encounters with the Minister of Fisheries.
Longitude 181 Nature is happy with this release which aims to put and end to overfishing, protect endangered species and strengthen finning ban.
This Plan is not as strong as we would like it, but it is a great step forward for the conservation of sharks in European waters and beyond, It sets up a framework which addresses all the aspects of fishing and conservation of sharks. It includes regulations at national, European and international levels. As soon as it is adopted, the European Community will be able to ask countries to strengthen their legislations, such as sharks catch limits and finning ban.
However, in spite of our strong demand, there are still gaps in the Plan which weaken the shark finning ban issued in 2003. This ban will only be respected if European fishing boats will have to disembark sharks with fins naturally attached. This legislation is already in place in many countries that undertake a responsible policy : Australia, USA, South Africa, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Seychelles Islands, and, at the request of Longitude 181 Nature, French Polynesia.
The next step will be the adoption of the Plan in the « Council conclusions » on April 23, 2009. These conclusions will confirm the European proposals in relation to the discussions of the working groups currently attended by representatives of the Fisheries Ministers.
"The success of the EU Shark Plan depends on prompt, follow-up proposals from the Commission and cooperation from Member States in ensuring improvements are accepted and enforced", said Sonja Fordham, Shark Alliance Policy Director.
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