The Mexico government has implemented new protections for several species of Atlantic sharks, but conservationists have been quick to point out that the bans were required under international commitments adopted years ago.
“Although long overdue, Mexico’s new shark protections have the potential to significantly bolster international conservation efforts for some of the Atlantic’s most imperiled species,” Shark Advocates International President Sonja Fordham said in a release. “In addition to reducing fishing pressure, the new bans can serve to inspire other countries to follow suit and live up to their various, urgent treaty obligations for sharks.”
Under the government’s new policy, Mexican tuna-fishing vessels that take sharks as bycatch in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, or the area overseen by the The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) may no longer keep them on board, store them, or land them. Instead, the sharks must be released in the best possible conditions to maximize their survival. Sharks covered under the policy include bigeye threshers, oceanic whitetip sharks, shortfin makos, hammerheads, and silky sharks.
“Those who fail to comply with the provisions will be subject to the sanctions provided for in the General Law on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture and other applicable legal provisions,” the Mexican National Commission for Aquaculture and Fisheries (CONAPESCA) said in a release, noting that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Mexican Navy would support enforcement.
The shark protections were agreed to by the ICCAT between 2009 and 2021; however, the Mexican government was slow to integrate those changes into its fisheries regulations.
“Most of the shark species subject to Mexico’s new retention bans – including the critically endangered oceanic whitetip and the exceptionally vulnerable bigeye thresher – were granted protections by ICCAT well over a decade ago,” Shark Trust Director of Conservation Ali Hood said in a release. “We simply must pick up the pace and raise the priority for implementing these vital safeguards.”
