Senegal’s proposal, which was before the 26th Regular Meeting of the Commission (held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain from November 18 to 25), would have prohibited “retaining onboard, transhipping, or landing part or whole of a North Atlantic shortfin mako carcass caught in any of the fisheries managed by ICCAT.” The proposal also included strict quotas for the South Atlantic shortfin mako shark. Senegal’s proposal came in the wake of a recommendation by the ICCAT Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS) that a non-retention policy, without any exceptions, be adopted for North Atlantic shortfin mako.

Considered to be the world’s fastest shark, the shortfin mako is particularly susceptible to overfishing, as it produces few young and matures later than other shark species. A 2017 study found that the North Atlantic mako population only had a one-in-two chance of recovering from overfishing if catches were cut to zero and additional measures adopted. In recognition of the critical conservation state of the shortfin mako, the parties to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), voted in favor of trade protections for this vulnerable species at the 18th Conference of the Parties, held in Geneva last August.