By collaborating with fishers, governments with limited resources for enforcement can more easily identify vessels that illegally harvest shark fin.

It is impossible to deny that sharing data between researchers and sustainable fishers can lead to potential progress. Currently, fishery-dependent data conjures the clearest explanatory variables about shark bycatch (Molina & Cooke, 2012). Improving the accessibility of these data sets for researchers can speed up the time it takes to discover the most significant contributors to shark bycatch. With this collaboration between fishermen and shark scientists, information otherwise unattainable can be passed on to policymakers, and legislation assisting the increase of targeted fish stocks would be easy to write.

More and more, conservationists stress the benefit of sustainable fisheries. In addition, the public is increasingly interested in the source of their fish (Monterey Bay Aquarium, 2009). Christine Ward-Paige, author of the “Global Overview of Shark Sanctuaries” in 2017, claims that “Fishers themselves are asking people to follow them on social media, for example, to make a connection and show they are sustainable. I’m interested and believe in this, that more voluntary, bottom-up mitigation and celebration measures can work” (Ward-Paige C., personal communication, April 5th, 2019).

The rise of companies like Seafood Watch signifies that Seafood consumers are taking extra notice to see whether their food is sustainably sourced (Monterey Bay Aquarium, 2009). As a result of Seafood Watch, fishers are starting to switch to more sustainable mindsets (Monterey Bay Aquarium, 2009). Bottom-up mitigation, which is when fishermen work with stakeholders to increase targeted fish catches and decrease incidental shark catches and damages, needs to be highlighted. Measures that allow fisheries, the environment, and local tourism to benefit from shark bycatch mitigation are worth celebrating.

Fishermen who only care about their targeted species should have no problem handing off bycatch data to any scientist. This collaboration can potentially increase the total number of catches while decreasing gear damage from sharks. Collaboration can eventually lead to a more sustainable yet flexible approach to pelagic fishery management, such as adaptive management.

While the idea of an increase in fishery-dependent data seems promising, most of the data on shark finning and bycatch is self-reported, indicating that there is a high probability of unreliable information (Molina & Cooke, 2012). By incentivizing fishing vessels to open more jobs to observers, fishers can improve fishery-dependent data reliability.

Stakeholders in this field, including the International Commission for Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), can already benefit from reliable observer programs. This sector of the seafood industry would benefit significantly from improved public perception if their programs are reliable and uncorrupt. Consumers would be ecstatic to hear that their sustainably caught tuna came from a fishery dedicated to protecting sharks. An increase in reliable observer programs can benefit shark populations and strengthen the seafood industry in the long run.

Peterson et al. (2009) found that individual fishing vessels were the most variant factor affecting the percentage of shark bycatch. Identifying major offenders can reduce shark bycatch. There is a disproportionate contribution of some fishing vessels towards shark bycatch.

Lastly, the increased awareness achieved from sustainable fisheries can incentivize the public to enhance their conservation efforts. This public awareness of shark overfishing has a strong chance of pressuring governments into passing more protective legislation.

References

Monterey Bay Aquarium. (2009). Monterey Bay Aquairum. Retrieved 2019, from https://www.seafoodwatch.org/-/m/sfw/pdf/businesses/mba-seafoodwatch-state-of-seafood-report.pdf?la=en

Molina, J. M., & Cooke, S. J. (2012). Trends in shark bycatch research: Current status and research needs. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries,22(3), 719-737. doi:10.1007/s11160-012-9269-3

Peterson , M B Honig , P G Ryan , L G Underhill & L JV Compagno (2009) Pelagic shark bycatch in the tuna- and swordfish-directed longline fishery off southern Africa, African Journal of Marine Science, 31:2, 215-225, DOI: 10.2989/AJMS.2009.31.2.9.881