Bonn/Rome 9 Dec 2008. At a three day meeting which concluded yesterday in Rome, representatives of 51 Shark Range State governments, chaired by Chile, decided to create a new agreement and Action Plan next year to conserve up to 7 threatened species of migratory sharks. This will be the first ever agreement under CMS for fish.

Photo right: Great white shark ©Terry Goss

Most governments want the agreement to be in the format of a Memorandum of Understanding and Action Plan under Article IV of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). This will facilitate faster ratification of the instrument by a larger number of countries since the agreement will not be legally binding. Action is urgently needed to conserve migratory shark populations globally, which according to IUCN data are significantly more threatened than those which do not migrate. There are hopes that states will use the increased flexibility of the instrument to agree a tangible and effective action plan which will halt the downward population trend facing several shark species. The United States of America were elected to lead an intersessional group which will draw up the new Action Plan for finale adoption at a follow-up meeting in the Philippines next year.

The meeting heard detailed presentations from IUCN and FAO on the latest scientific assessment of sharks´ conservation status and the measures already being taken under the FAO-sponsored programmes for shark fisheries management. Several speakers highlighted the need for a new CMS agreement to add value and “teeth” to existing programmes by focussing on particularly vulnerable migratory species, which would avoid duplication.

The meeting agreed that the main objective of the new agreement should be to achieve – and maintain – a favourable conservation status for migrating sharks and their habitats, using the best scientific evidence. The agreement will definitely cover three large “emblematic” migratory shark species previous listed under CMS – the Basking, Great White and Whale Sharks. Range states were divided on whether four further species –the porbeagle shark, the spiny dogfish, and two kinds of mako shark (shortfin and longfin) – should also be covered by the new agreement. These species were listed under CMS for the first time by a decision taken at the 9th Conference of Parties (CMS CoP9) held immediately before the shark negotiations, which was the focus of considerable debate. Range states will take final decisions in the Philippines next year on whether to include them in the new agreement.

Welcoming the progress made in Rome, CMS Executive Secretary Robert Hepworth emphasised the need to work in co-operation with FAO within the spirit of “One UN” and commented:

“The world is waking up to the threats facing sharks. The number of range states participating in the negotiations rose by almost 50% compared with the first sharks meeting in 2008. By the time the third meeting to finalise the agreement takes place in the Philippines in 2009, the Secretariat hopes that even more shark fishing and consumer states will be involved. There is a lot of common ground between the negotiators – everyone wants to reverse the falling population trends. Countries may need the confidence given by an international agreement in order to be willing to make short term sacrifices needed to restore population levels. If countries are confident that their neighbours will play fair on this, then we could at last see real progress in saving these remarkable species, which play a key role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems as well as providing more direct benefits to human populations.”