Brussels, 02/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - The 13th session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) is being held in Bali from 30 March to 3 April. Over 70 conservation, marine science, diving and sport fishing groups from around the world (Shark Alliance, Pew Environment Group, Greenpeace, etc) are urging the IOTC to reject European Union and Australian proposals that, they believe, could weaken the regional ban on shark finning, the wasteful practice of cutting off a shark's valuable fins and discarding the body at sea.
Changes suggested by the EU and Australia consist of replacing the 5% rule (weight of fins must not exceed 5% of the carcass weight of sharks caught) with “two potentially disastrous options”: - to place shark fins in plastic bags which would b e affixed to the corresponding carcass; - or to mark shark fins and bodies with matching numbers and store them separately. The organisations recommend leaving the fins naturally attached to the body of the shark, in order to combat finning.
Data show how many sharks (2006 figures) are caught by CTOI contracting bodies: Indonesia (98,250 metric tonnes), India (77,821 tonnes), Spain (39,106 tonnes), Japan 26,178), France (19,082), and Portugal (16,934). Other measures must be decided during this CTOI meeting, mainly with regard to bigeye tuna, yellow-fin tuna and skipjack. (L.C./transl.jl)