This week, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) holds its annual meeting in Europe’s largest fishing port: Vigo, Spain. We’ve been working with various colleagues, including Shark Advocates International and Shark Trust to encourage NAFO decisions toward more responsible regional fisheries for sharks and skates.

Specifically, we’ve sent letters to the heads of the EU and US NAFO delegations to urge a reduction in the NAFO catch limit for skates, in line with the advice issued by NAFO scientists, and to applaud their collaborative efforts to strengthen NAFO’s ban on shark finning.

Shark Finning

NAFO has banned shark finning (slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea), but – like other Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs) – allows shark fins to be removed at sea and stored separately from shark carcasses onboard vessels, as long as the fin-to-carcass weight ratio does not exceed 5%. Using ratios to enforce finning bans has proved complicated and unreliable. The alternative method of requiring that sharks be landed with their fins still naturally attached is widely recognized as the best practice for finning ban enforcement, and can also facilitate the collection of much needed species-specific catch data. The US and the EU have replaced domestic ratio limits with “fins naturally attached” rules, and have jointly promoted this method at many international bodies. While such initiatives are gaining momentum globally, NAFO has the opportunity to be the first RFMO to mandate that shark fins stay attached through landing, and thereby set an important precedent.

Catch Limit for Skates

The Northwest Atlantic skates at issue are fished mainly by vessels from Spain, Portugal, Canada, and Russia. Thorny skates (Amblyraja radiata), also known as starry skates in Europe, make up the vast majority of this mixed skate species catch. Thorny skates are classified as Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). NAFO scientists have long warned that this species has low reproductive capacity (due to slow growth and few offspring) and that the population under NAFO management is at a low level. There has been little improvement in this population since the first NAFO skate TAC took effect in 2005. NAFO scientists have recommended that skate catches not exceed the levels taken in recent years (about 5000 metric tons annually). Although the NAFO skate TAC has been reduced several times since it was established, it remains above scientific advice (at 7,000 mt). The population could therefore be at risk and recovery compromised if vessels from countries with skate quota allocations decide to increase their skate fishing (and take all that they are allotted).

NAFO Contracting Parties

NAFO Contracting Parties include Canada, Cuba, Denmark (in respect to the Faroe Islands & Greenland), the European Union, France (in respect to Saint Pierre et Miquelon), Iceland, Japan, Republic of Korea, Norway, Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the US. NAFO Parties develop international management measures for Northwest Atlantic fish (except salmon, tunas/marlins, and sedentary species like shellfish.

Stay tuned to @SharkTrustUK, @ProjectAWARE, and @SharkAdvocates for news about the final meeting outcomes at the end of this week!

Photo Starry / Thorny Skate by Rick Starr / SIMoN NOAA