| Longline and Shark Finning |
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| Wednesday, 04 March 2009 00:00 | |||
The baited hooks can be seen by albatross from the air and when they dive on the hooks, they are caught and they drown. Other forms of marine wildlife see the bait from the waters below and get hooked when they try to eat the bait. The lines are set adrift from vessels for a period of 12 to 24 hours. What Are These Longlines Doing to the Albatross? A seafaring symbol for centuries, immortalized in Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, albatrosses roam widely across vast expanses of the oceans of the world, rarely coming ashore except to breed on remote oceanic islands in or near the Southern Ocean. Unfortunately for the various species of albatross in this remote part of the world, fleets of hundreds of fishing vessels from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia hunt the Southern bluefin tuna, sharks, and billfish. As many as 100 million hooks a year are set by the Japanese fleet alone in the Southern bluefin tuna fishery. Tens of thousands of birds are being killed annually. One conservative calculation for albatross killed on Japanese longliners is 44,000 per year. The actual figure could be double that, according to researchers, but data on albatross kills by other nations' fishing vessels is not available. Twelve of the world's 14 albatross species are believed to be dying in the tens of thousands each year in this way. Because of the large number of birds affected, commercial fishing has been identified as the most serious threat to the survival of most albatross species. What Are These Longlines Doing to the Sea Turtles? Many species of sea turtles fall victim to the deadly hooks of the longliners. 20,000 loggerhead turtles are captured every year by the Spanish longline fishery in the Mediterranean Sea, and 4,000 of them are believed to die because they are returned to the sea with the hook still embedded in their throats. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 75% of the loggerhead turtles and 40% of the leatherback turtles taken by United States-based pelagic longliners in the Atlantic are caught on the Grand Banks in the North Atlantic . The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that 40,000 sea turtles are killed annually in the global longline fisheries. Leatherback turtles, the largest turtles in the world, will be extinct within a few decades if current fishing practices continue. That is the conclusion of marine researchers speaking at the 2002 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver. "We've done specific analysis on beaches where we've got a lot of data and we expect them to disappear in 10 to 30 years," said Larry Crowder, from Duke University, North Carolina. What Are These Longlines Doing to the Sharks? Longlines are the most significant factor in the rapid diminishment of shark populations in the oceans. Longlines ranging from one mile in length to over one hundred miles in length are baited with fish, (often illegally killed dolphins or seals), and are meant to target shark, swordfish, and tuna. The sharks targeted are caught mostly for their fins (which account for only 4% of their body weight) and also for their cartilage, liver oil, and teeth. The longline fishermen remove the fins and toss the still living shark back into the sea to die an agonizing death. Unable to swim, they slowly sink towards the bottom where other fish eat them alive. If longlines are not abolished, the oceans will lose most species of sharks within the next decade. Please visit our Shark Finning page for more information. What Sea Shepherd is Doing Currently Sea Shepherd is tackling the problem in both pelagic waters and in territorial waters of some nation states. Our legal authority to intervene within territorial waters of a nation state is by way of agreement with the respective state. Presently, the Sea Shepherd has a contractual agreement to intervene against illegal fishing activities in the marine reserve waters of the Galapagos National Park, and very soon will have an agreement with Colombia’s Malpelo Island National Park. Intervention in International Waters The use of longlines in international waters is not illegal in itself. However, if the lines take an endangered or threatened species, they become illegal because the taking of an endangered species is a violation of the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). International maritime law dictates that a longline that does not bear an identifying flag is in effect legally salvageable, i.e., free for the taking because it is not attached to the ship or boat that deploys it. When Does Sea Shepherd Intervene? A Sea Shepherd ship and crew will intervene to confiscate longlines if any of the following evidence is found: 1. An albatross caught on a hook on any section of the longline So far, in every case of our discovery of a longline at sea, there has been an intervention, because the crew did not see any evidence of identification or of bird-scaring devices. The following are also guidelines for determining the illegality of longlines being deployed in the world’s oceans: The Brutal Business of Shark Finning Human beings are skilled at justification. Every year humans slaughter over 100 million sharks yet we depict them as vicious and blood-thirsty killers. No more than 12 people a year are killed by sharks worldwide. In fact is more dangerous to play golf than to swim in the ocean with sharks. More golfers are struck by lightning and killed each year than the total number of shark fatalities. Many more humans are struck and killed by boats every year than are attacked by sharks. Yes, we also kill them for their teeth and jaws, and we kill them for shark leather for shoes and belts. We slaughter them for shark liver oil and for shark cartilage for pseudo cancer cures. Sharks are used in cosmetics, skin care products and in medicines.
It is the mass slaughter of sharks on longlines and in nets for the sole purpose of taking their fins that is responsible for the incredible diminishment of shark populations around the world. The fins are highly prized. The fishermen catch the sharks and slice off the fins, unmindful whether the shark is alive or not. The bodies, most of them still alive, are tossed back into the sea to bleed to death or to be attacked by other sharks or fish. Over 8,000 tons of shark fins are processed each year. The fins only amount to 4% of a shark's bodyweight. This means that some 200,000 tons of shark are thrown back into the sea and discarded. Already 18 species of sharks have been listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Shark Fin Soup - for what? The fins are dried, stacked, and sold, mostly illegally. The buyers extract the collagen fibers, clean them, and process them into "shark fin soup." The demand for shark fin soup has developed since 1985 and coincides with the rapid growth of the Chinese economy. The demand from China is for staggering amounts of shark fins. As a result, the oceans are literally being scoured clean of sharks. Poachers are invading national marine parks like the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and Cocos Island in Costa Rica to catch sharks. Forget the fictional fear spawned by Steven Spielberg's ridiculous film Jaws. The oceans are no longer safe for sharks. And the horror is that we don't just kill them, we hack off their limbs and toss their mutilated bodies back into the sea to die an agonizing and horrific death. Sea Shepherd Singapore has been educating the public for the last several years about the devastating effect that the Asian culture's use of shark fin soup is having on shark populations. Grant Pereira, Sea Shepherd Singapore representative and SSCS Advisory Board member, has overseen the production of a series of striking postcards and is marketing them widely with the objective of stopping this useless, wasteful, and cruel so-called "tradition." Why Should We Care About Sharks? We should care because sharks are valued citizens of oceanic eco-systems. They are both predators and scavengers, and these roles they play contribute to eliminating diseased and genetically-defective animals and help to stabilize fish populations. We do not know enough about marine ecology to understand what the impact of this incredible onslaught of shark deaths will bring about. There will be consequences. For example, removing sharks will increase octopus populations resulting in greater predation on lobsters by octopus. This was the very reason that the spiny lobster fishery collapsed in Tasmania. One of the things we forget is that sharks differ from other fish. They do not lay thousands or millions of eggs. Many sharks take up to fifteen years to reach maturity and then produce only one shark pup per year. Such a fragile and slow reproduction rate means that their populations may never recover from the damage we have already inflicted. The position of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is that no sharks should be killed and should be given complete global protection under law. Sea Shepherd has long fought the practice of longlining and regularly confiscates illegal killer lines (and nets) from the oceans. Protecting sharks is a more difficult job than protecting dolphins or seals. From the point of view of public relations, seals are cute and dolphins have that lovely natural smile. The shark, in contrast, shows its teeth and, hence, they look menacing. However, dolphin lovers should know that fishermen kill and cut up dolphins for shark bait for their longline hooks. As conservationists, we must recognize the value of the interdependence of all species in the oceans and that the shark is an important part of the diversity of marine ecological eco-systems. We must oppose the cultural practice of consuming shark fin soup, and we must discourage the consumption of sharks for cosmetics and for trinkets. Most importantly, we must educate the general public that sharks are not the vicious, "cold-blooded" creatures many people believe they are. We need not peer into the dark depths of the sea to see the monstrous creatures that maim and kill by the millions - we need only look into a mirror. (Source: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society)
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This is a very cruel way to treat any animal these people show all the barbarity of a medieval race.This practice should be outlawed immediatly.
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November 05, 2009
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Definitivamente que es cruel el extermino que se describe en estos artículos, pero.... no todo es a como lo pintan, existen muchas pesquerias en el mundo que trabajan bajo el codigo de conducta responsable de la FAO y aqui no se menciona como estas empresas luchan por erradicar el Shark Finning, es triste ver como los conservacionistas solo conocen un lado de la moneda, con medias verdades no es la forma ideal y honesta de ganar adeptos y apoyo para una causa a todas vista muy justa
,
July 04, 2011
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A longline is a fishing line usually made of monofilament. The length of the line generally ranges from 1.6km (1 mile) to as long as 100km (62 miles). The line is buoyed by styrofoam or plastic floats. Every hundred or so feet, there is a secondary line attached extending down about 5m (16 feet). This secondary line is hooked and baited with squid, fish, or in cases we have discovered, with fresh dolphin meat.
Albatross and other seabird species are caught and dragged underwater to their deaths on these deadly, baited hooks as they are launched from the ships.
Sea Shepherd crew have recorded dozens of turtle carcasses along the Pacific coast of Central America. When examined, all the dead turtles were found to have hooks embedded in their throats.
We kill sharks because of our fear of them, for food, for sport, and most disturbing of all - so that some of us can make a tasteless, expensive soup to impress our family and friends.
Sharks are Endangered
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This is a very big problem and we should all join our forces and work together to solve this problem. And we must act fast, because every single day and every single click is very important to sharks. Lest make the global team and save this magnificent Apex predators ~ SHARKS ! You have full support of the Shark Lab organisation !
For the Sharks,
Andrej Gajic ~ Shark Lab / President