The Republic of the Marshall Islands established the world's largest shark sanctuary this month. Legislation passed by the Marshall's parliament unanimously ends commercial shark fishing in all of the nation's 768,547 square miles of ocean. Sharks and rays are under increasing threat from commercial fishing. Sharks are hunted primarily for their fins, considered a delicacy in Asia. A bowl of shark fin soup can cost as much as $100. Some species of shark such as the hammerhead and white tip have lost 98% of their population. Because sharks grow slowly and produce few young, they are particularly vulnerable to slaughter. An estimated 73 million sharks are killed annually in the fin trade according to Pew Environment Group that is working to establish shark sanctuaries. Sharks suffer a brutal death by defining. Unable to swim without fins, they drown or die slowly from loss of blood.
 |
| credit: oceanfilmfest |
The extent of the problem was made gruesomely clear when two Russian sport divers report seeing the ocean floor littered with mutilated shark carcasses in the Malpelo Wildlife Sanctuary off the Columbia coast. The divers reported seeing ten illegal fishing boats flying
Costa Rican flags near the massacre last week. Some 2,000 hammerhead, Galapagos and whale sharks are estimated by wildlife officials to have killed illegally with their fins hacked off. Divers are attracted to the World Heritage sanctuary by the schooling of hammerheads and other sharks in the area. Columbia's navy only patrols the area sporadically. When the report of the massacre came in, it dispatched a ship to the area which seized an Ecuadorian fishing boat. It was caught with 300kgs of illegal catch including sharks. Three of the Costa Rica vessels were identified by name:
Marco Antonio,
Jefferson and
Papante.
The lesson for the Marshall Islands is that creation of a protected zone is an admirable and valuable commitment to preserving biodiversity, but enforcement of fishing restrictions is essential. That is a major hurdle for a small island nation with limited means. The new sanctuary law prohibits long lining with wire leaders, transfers of catch at sea, and landing all catch. Large fines are imposed for anyone possessing shark fins or found fishing for sharks. As a top marine predator, the shark must survive in the wild to preserve the oceans' ecological balance. Rich nations must be willing to help less fortunate ones willing to preserve habitat. The United States enjoys territorial rights for defense purposes in the islands under the 1986 compact granting sovereignty. It should be the first nation to
offer aid to the Marshalls to protect its new marine reserve.