Global Trade Crackdown an early Christmas present for Australia's Sharks & Rays
- 74 species of shark and ray have been granted stronger international protections, with more than a third (27) calling Australian waters home.
- Gulper and school sharks, found in Aussie waters, have been added to Appendix II, meaning their international trade must not come at the cost of their survival in the wild.
- Gulper sharks are currently fished in Australian waters for their liver oil which is used in cosmetics and health supplements.
Sharks and rays have received an early Christmans present with 74 species receiving stronger international trade protections at UN Wildlife summit, CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Protections include those for the gulper sharks, fished in Australia for their livers that contain the highly valuable oil, squalene. Australian companies currently process and sell shark liver oil internationally, including in human health supplements. Squalene is also used in cosmetics and vaccines, despite there being yeast and plant-derived equivalents to address sustainability and ethical concerns.
In just half a century, oceanic sharks and ray species have decreased by over 70% across the world's oceans. In Australian waters, one in eight shark and ray species is threatened with extinction. Australia is considered the world's lifeboat for many of the world's most endangered shark and ray species, the new CITES listings are an opportunity to significantly improve efforts in protecting and recovering these species.
Dr Leonardo Guida, shark scientist at AMCS said,
"It's great that the Australian Government has supported these landmark global trade controls but it must now turn its attention to domestic fisheries, and improve efforts to protect and recover sharks and rays in Australian waters.
Next year we can expect cameras on trawl boats that catch gulpers in our largest fishery, the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery. It's crucial that data from cameras identifies potential protected areas and is used to stop fishing when too many gulpers are accidentally caught."
Dr Madeline Green, Molecular Fisheries Ecologist at the University of Tasmania said,
"The international trade in liver oil is a major driver of targeted fisheries for deep-water sharks and the retention of bycatch. It is alarming that 75% of gulper shark species are assessed as threatened on the IUCN Red List, and many face a high risk of extinction due to overfishing."
"Traceability of liver oil products is crucial to improve effective conservation. Using genetic tools to understand what species and where in the world liver oil products are from can influence a range of actions, including consumer awareness and better quantifying the impact of fisheries on gulper sharks."
