How you can help the UK take another step to protect endangered sharks

Decades of industrial exploitation have taken their toll, and now all UK seas and their delicate marine habitats are under immense pressure. Only a tiny fraction of our seas are protected from damaging activities, and only eight of a total of 47 fish stocks are known to be in a healthy state and 22 of our marine vertebrates are now considered to be threatened with extinction.

Corporate Risk Systems has a history of supporting our Oceans with its work with the Pacific Whale Foundation as Endangered sharks will be given greater protection following the signing of an international agreement on the conservation of sharks, Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon announced today, we thought we would let you know what you can do to support our oceans

Use the Marine Conservation Society Guide, http://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/fisheries/fishweek/FishWeek_FishList_Jan2011.pdf

Species	Eat			Avoid
Alaska or Walleye Pollock		Alaska, Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands
Bib or Pouting                                                                     All
Black bream, Porgy or Seabream                                 All
Clam		Farmed (Manila, American Hardshell), Carpet shell
Cockle		Hand gathered
Cod, Atlantic			NE Arctic, Eastern Baltic		Irish Sea, Faroes Bank, Rockall, W.Scotland, Greenland, Norwegian Coast, North Sea, Western Channel
Cod, Pacific		Alaska longline
Coley or Saithe		North Sea, West Scotland & Rockall, NE Arctic
Crab		Spider, pot-caught
Dab                                                                                     All
Eel		European & Conger
Flounder                                                                           All
Gurnard		Grey & Red
Haddock			NE Arctic, North Sea			West Scotland & Faroes
Hake		From Spain & Portugal
Halibut			Farmed (onshore system)			Atlantic, wild caught only
Herring or Sild			Norwegian spring spawning, Celtic Sea, North Sea			West Ireland & West Scotland
Ling		Avoid trawled
Lobster		Western Australian rock				From Southern New England stocks
Mackerel		Handline ,driftnet caught & North Sea
Mussel		Farmed
Oyster		Farmed (native (flat) & Pacific)
Pollack or Lythe		Line caught
Plaice		Celtic Sea, W. English Channel, SW & W Ireland
Prawn		Tiger & King (organic-certified farmed or zero input system)				Tiger & King Prawns; wild caught & non-certified farmed
Ray							Small-eyed & Thornback from Bay of Biscay; all Blonde, Sandy, Shagreen & Undulate
Red Mullet		From NE Atlantic
Salmon			Pacific (5 Species), Atlantic (organic farmed)				Atlantic, wild caught
Sardine or Pilchard		From Cornwall
Scallop		Diver caught King or otter-trawled Queen
Scampi or Dublin Bay Prawn		From Spain & Portugal
Seabass		Line & Gillnet caught					Pelagic trawled
Shark                                                                                                                                                                                                               All
Skate                                                                                                                                                                                                               All
Sole (Dover/Common)		Irish Sea
Sole (Lemon)		Otter trawled, seine net caught
Squid		European; Jig caught
Swordfish		Indian Ocean, Med., S. Atlantic, NW Pacific
Tilapia		Farmed (organic or closed recirculating system)
Trout			Rainbow; organic farmed or freshwater ponds					Brown or Sea; wild caught from Baltic
Tuna (Albacore)			Pole & line or troll caught from South Pacific					South Atlantic
Tuna (Bigeye)		Indian, Atlantic & Central West Pacific
Tuna (Bluefin)                                                                                                                                                                                                    All
Tuna (Skipjack)		Pole & line; Pacific, W. Atlantic or Maldives
Turbot		Farmed (onshore system)						Beam-trawl caught

Endangered sharks will be given greater protection following the signing of an international agreement on the conservation of sharks, Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon announced today. The agreement, the first of its kind to address the global conservation of sharks, was signed by Richard Benyon on behalf of the UK and a number of our Overseas Territories. Adopted under the Convention of Migratory Species it will help develop management measures to protect threatened species such as basking, longfin mako and whale sharks.

Many of these sharks are not only found in UK waters, but in the waters of our Overseas Territories making their involvement crucial in ensuring these animals get the protection they need.

Signing the agreement, Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon said:

“We must do all we can to protect these vulnerable species before they are lost forever. 

“The UK is already pushing the EU to tighten controls on the wasteful and barbaric practice of shark finning, and this agreement further demonstrates our determination to ensure they do have a future.

“We will continue to lead the way on shark conservation internationally and will push for improvements wherever they’re needed.”

Under the agreement, work will focus on improving fisheries data for threatened shark species to help inform conservation and management actions.  It will see better co-ordination of shark management and conservation measures at regional and international levels, including proposals to limit the catch or trade in endangered species of shark.

Today’s signing also extended the agreement to the UK Overseas Territories of Bermuda, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Indian Ocean Territories and Crown Dependency of the Isle of Man