Shark nations are failing conservation targets, say wildlife experts
28th January 2011
30% of all shark species are either threatened or close to being threatened with extinction, say wildlife experts
Nations whose seawaters are home to sharks are failing to meet conservation targets, a wildlife charity has announced.
Ten years after the UN FCO (United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation) approved an international plan to conserve sharks, a new report states that 30% of all shark species are either threatened by extinction or very close to being threatened.
TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network say not enough countries are working to conserve or even control how many sharks are caught and killed.
TRAFFIC’s Global Marine Programme Leader, Glenn Sant said “The fate of the world’s sharks is in the hands of the top twenty shark catchers...”
According to TRAFFIC’s report, the twenty shark catchers kill more than 640,000 tonnes of shark each year and account for almost 80% of the world’s shark catches.
The top ten shark catching nations are: Indonesia, India, Spain, Taiwan, Argentina, Mexico, Pakistan, United States, Japan and Malaysia.
In contrast to recent media reports, Japan is the only country out of the top twenty known to have reviewed and revised its national plan of action on shark conservation.
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