EU to protect sharks

About a third of all shark species that are found in the north-eastern Atlantic are threatened with extinction. The sharks which reproduce very slowly are mainly threatened by overfishing and bycatch where thousands of sharks are accidentally caught every year on fisheries' tuna longlines. Meanwhile the demand for shark fins in Asian markets remains very high, with prices reaching up to 500 euros per kg. The EU, primarily Spain, is a major exporter of shark fins to China and Hong Kong.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) brought forward an international plan of action for the conservation and management of sharks, but the EU did not adopt all of the voluntary measures. The European Commission said that it did not feel the measures adopted by member states were sufficient to rebuild the depleted populations of sharks.

Sharks on Red List
Sarah Fowler, co-chairwoman of the IUCN shark specialist group told BBC News that the key to the success of the EU action plan would be the effective management of the waters, which would be underpinned by improved data. "The structure of the Commission's proposal is great; it makes me very optimistic," Ms Fowler said.

She explained that this would include improved investment in catch, biological and trade data. It would also be necessary, she added, to be able to assess threats to populations, and identify and protect critical habitats.

The Shark Alliance, a coalition of conservation, fishing and scientific organisations, says that up to 73 million sharks are killed each year for the global fin trade.

The IUCN is set to publish the first global Shark Red List - the most comprehensive taxonomic assessment to date - in October 2008.