Mallorca, Spain. November 25, 2019. Conservationists are shocked and distressed that the European Union and the United States – despite longstanding efforts to promote science-based shark conservation – were the main obstacles to the adoption of urgently needed protection for mako sharks at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). Ten countries, led by Senegal and Canada, proposed and fought for consensus on protecting the seriously overfished North Atlantic Shortfin Makos, as also advised by ICCAT scientists. Yet the EU and the US refused to back off from their demands for exceptions which allow them to catch hundreds of tons of these endangered species. ICCAT scientists estimate that even if fishing stops, this population could take four or five decades to recover. Since not all ICCAT member countries could agree on any sustainable solution, the status quo fishing at unsustainable levels continues.
Source: Shark Trust
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