Sharks lose fight to protect them at UN meeting

AP Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar – Asian nations on Tuesday blocked U.S.-backed proposals to protect the heavily fished hammerhead and oceanic whitetip sharks on concerns that regulating the booming trade in fins could hurt poor coastal nations.

Japan, which successfully campaigned against an export ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna and regulations on the coral trade, led the opposition to the shark proposal at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100323/ap_on_...ving_species_29

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It seems that in addition to its war on whales, Japan is dead set to drive every great animal in the oceans to extinction. The word back from CITES is that the Japanese delegates were out in force to defeat anything related to marine conservation.

Hi all,

There is an excellent article about the debate over the status of bluefin Tuna here

It would seem that the political power of the fishing lobby has overruled the evidence.

I think that these meetings will in the future be seen as another missed opportunity.

It's a bleak picture for Apex marine species.

Adam

I deal with some of these people because of my involvement with the IUCN. Unfortunately I think they will only (maybe) be convinced when there is unquestionable data showing that targeted species went extinct due to fishing. Really sad.

We at The Shark Research Institute sent a contingent of 6 people to CITES to help bolster efforts for shark protection. The outcomes were very, very disappointing to say the least. I heard that one of the Japanese delegates simply stated "I don't care if it is the last fish in the ocean, if it tastes good i will catch it and eat it." I just can't imagine how someone can have such a selfish, narrow-minded view of nature. This is the crux of the problem. We have data and rational arguments on our side, but we are not dealing with rational people...Very very sad...

- MDP

I wish I could say that this was unexpected, but it's really just deja vu all over again...

... scientific evidence has always fallen foul of economic or, worse, political imperatives.

Tim

Really starting to feel guilty about buying ANY Japanese or Chinese products, not sure what I'll buy then though!

Want to know which Asian nations voted against protection for the sharks? Jakarta Post

Titled: Indonesia Helps Defeat Hammerhead Shark Protections - March 23, 2010

"Doha, Qatar. Indonesia, along with Singapore and Japan, on Tuesday voted against a US-backed proposal to protect the heavily fished hammerhead shark at a UN wildlife meeting here."

I just read it & it made me really angry & ashamed to be a Singaporean. Many Yao Ming could give our cabinet ministers a piece of his mind??? Since they would be more likely to listen to an international celebrity?

Maybe divers should stop using Singapore as a transit hub! This place is NOT SHARK FRIENDLY! DO NOT spend any money here!

Following the lead from a cause Facebook Cause, will email to the ministers too... But some of the figures look a little large, would appreciate if someone could verify the data...

The reply has been received from AVA (Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of S'pore). Reply from AVA

I think it is very contradicting...

Excerpts,

"At the recent CITES COP15 in Doha, Singapore did not support the sharks proposals. However, we wish to clarify that this is not because the Singapore government does not care about the plight of the sharks. We are of the view that the CITES mechanism is not appropriate for management of shark fisheries.........."

"The AVA regulates the import of sharks and shark's fins through a licensing scheme. Only licensed fish dealers are allowed to import sharks and shark's fins and for CITES-protected shark species, only shipments with valid CITES documents are permitted."

It is well known that Japan offered financial insentive to its developing neighbours to back them in the vote. Of course it was not a 'direct' bribe but a helpful hand to its neighbours with a helpful nudge and a wink when japan needed votes in the house. Even if they did not actively vote with Japan, but they didnt help the protection of sharks.

Finally, what do Japanese politicians taste like? cos if they taste good...

Olly

We are losing sharks... Japan's shark fin capital

The scale is huge...

"If you thought shark finning was exclusively a Chinese problem, think again. Welcome to Kesen-numa City, Japan's shark fin capital.

Here, six days a week, small teams of Japanese workers go about the hushed business of industrial shark-finning."