News

New Population Assessment Reveals Serious Overfishing in North Atlantic

Conservation groups are calling for national and international protections for shortfin mako sharks based on a new scientific assessment that finds the North Atlantic population has been depleted and is continuing to be seriously overfished. The shortfin mako – the world’s fastest shark — is sought for meat, fins, and sport, but most fishing countries impose no limits on catch. An upcoming international fisheries meeting presents a critical opportunity to protect the species.

Continue reading Conservationists Call for Mako Shark Fishing Ban

ICCAT fishery managers aim to cap North Atlantic blue shark catch as momentum to ban at-sea fin removal grows

 Fishing nations gathered for the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) have taken a small yet unprecedented step toward establishing limits on blue shark catches from the North Atlantic, but failed to act on scientific advice to do the same for the South Atlantic. Countries also mounted an extraordinary effort to strengthen the international ban on shark “finning” that was eventually thwarted by Japan and China.

Continue reading Baby Step for Blue Sharks, New Voices Against Finning at Atlantic Tuna Meeting