UK-based conservation charity the Shark Trust hopes to enlist divers’ support as it expands the reach of its Oceanics Programme to champion sharks in the Indian Ocean – a hotspot nowadays for shark fisheries.
Challenging governments to deliver on their promises and obligations, the trust says it has fought for oceanic shark conservation for more than two decades, and was instrumental in securing gains such as shark-finning regulations and the first international catch limit for Atlantic blue sharks, as well as measures to protect hammerheads, makos, whale sharks, manta rays and other species.
However, a 2021 study indicated that the global abundance of oceanic sharks and rays had declined by 71% because of an 18-fold increase in relative fishing pressure, with overfishing driving more than a third of all sharks and rays towards a global extinction crisis.
Building on the trust’s years of experience as a founder-member of the Shark League for the Atlantic and Mediterranean, it has announced that it is also now working with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission to directly engage with the governments of more than 30 countries with fishing interests in Indian Ocean high seas.
“Extending our work to the Indian Ocean is a vital step to secure science-based management for these highly threatened oceanic species,” says Shark Trust director of conservation Ali Hood.
“Overfishing twinned with adoption of weak measures, plus poor compliance with existing management are all factors pushing Indian Ocean species toward extinction, threatening the health of our ocean and the communities that rely on it.”
With the help of its Big Shark Pledge community fund-raisers, the trust says its Indian Ocean activities were already getting underway last year.
“But to really get traction over the coming years we need additional funds,” it says. “We can’t do it without help. A donation today will help us stay at the table, push for stronger protections, and give oceanic sharks a fighting chance.”
