Asian_Geographic_Issue_4_2017

recording shark data with Harmonised

System (HS) Codes (developed by the

World Customs Organization and used

to classify goods globally). According

to WWF-Singapore’s press release for

the 2017 report, this would allow for

detailed information about the trade:

It would permit “distinction between

dried and frozen shark products,

which is critical for accurately

determining actual trade volume,

and [to] provide further insight into

the species in trade”.

Transparency allows for nations

to get to grips with sustainability –

or at least begin to. Were such a

system implemented, there would be

monitoring of the volumes – and the

species of sharks – being traded.

This then allows control over the levels

of trade to the benefit of sustaining

shark populations.

THE WAY AHEAD

Perhaps one of the more obvious

approaches to complement national

efforts is to require the fisheries

that source them to be verified as

sustainable by a global organisation.

The Marine Stewardship Council

(MSC), an international certification

body for sustainable fishing, judges

sustainable fishing according to

measurements of healthy populations

of species, as well as management

measures that prevent overfishing

and harm to the environment.

Elaine Tan from WWF says:

“The development of sustainable

fisheries for sharks is an important

part of the solution to the shark

crisis. But so far, only one shark

fishery in the world has been certified

sustainable by the MSC – for spiny

dogfish in the US.”

While this does illustrate certain

problems – why would nations,

especially developing ones, consent

to sustainable standards and hurt

their fishing industry? – it would

undoubtedly be to the benefit of^

shark populations.

For now, at least, the road ahead

for nations with large ports is to

implement appropriate coding and

to properly enforce their controls.

In this way, unsustainable fisheries

that target sharks indiscriminately

(or seek to circumvent regulations)

are cut off from exploiting the

international market. Alongside

education – from cities to isolated

fishing villages – which will strengthen

people’s resolve to get their nations

to live up to international obligations,

things may just start to change for the

better for sharks. ag

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