DUBLIN (IRELAND)- Over 60 percent of all sharks and rays in Irish waters are threatened with extinction or ‘near threatened. Last month the Irish navy detained Spanish fishermen for allegedly finning sharks at sea, a practice that has been banned in EU waters since 2013. More protection is urgently needed, says the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT). Currently no marine fish […]
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CAIRNS (AUSTRALIA)-Lethal drumlines off the coast of Queensland, northern Australia catch and kill hundreds of non-target marine animals in the Great Barrier Reef. Humane Society International and the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) have released imagery of drumlines set off the coast of Magnetic Island showing the death of endangered scalloped hammerhead sharks. Both organizations call for an end to […]
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Since 2015 the export of shark fins has been banned in India, thanks to the good work of Humane Society International/India and People for Animals. Petitioners sought to have the ban lifted and appealed to the Kerala High Court, claiming the ban affected “their fundamental right to trade. Last week the court decided to uphold the ban. Not only did […]
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AUCKLAND (New Zealand)- The New Zealand government has listed two species of shark in its waters as ‘near threatened’: great whites and basking sharks. This is a negative shift from their previous “at risk” status in the last conservation report published in 2005. The report, called The New Zealand Threat Classification System, updates the conservation status of 113 species or […]
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CANCUN (MEXICO)- Every year between may and September whale sharks gather off the Caribbean coast of the peninsula of Yucatan. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has decided to protect these gentle giants by creating an official refuge area of 633,000 hectares. The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, through the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas, will enforce the protection program […]
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PUERTO JIMENEZ (COSTA RICA)- A new sanctuary in the Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica must give young Scalloped Hammerheads the opportunity to grow up in peace. Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís announced earlier this month the designation of more than 10,000 acres of critical nursery habitat for this endangered shark species. It is thanks to the work of Rainforest Trust and its local […]
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ISTANBUL (TURKEY)- Turkey has set new measures protecting endangered sharks and rays, like angel sharks and shortfin makos. The list of prohibited species for fishing in the mediterranean country now has 14 species of sharks and rays on it. Already in 2012 the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), which includes Turkey, adopted a measure to end fishing and retention of 24 […]
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