Vulnerable thresher shark is killed and sold on the Spanish coast

The harmless thresher shark that last summer was spotted at less than a mile off Vilanova y la Geltru in the northwest of Spain was finally killed yesterday by the longline vessel Antonio Mullor from this same fishing village. The 342 pound shark female that is thought was pregnant was sold in a Barcelona market by 2.7 euros per kilo according to La Vanguardia newspaper.

Seeing thresher sharks in Catalonian waters is a rare event and conservationists estimate the species is reaching its commercial extinction because of overfishing caused by Asian demand for shark fins. The loss of this pregnant female is not only a severe downturn on the conservation efforts but exposes the lack of awareness towards the shark population issue of both the fishermen still committing these atrocities and the government that permits this killing without punishment.

Ironically, this slaughter comes the same day the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM) adopted the measure to ban the capture of thresher sharks and scalloped hammerhead sharks by means of a Ministerial Order set to enter into force 1 January 2010 – in an effort to protect both vulnerable species. Today, in sight of the coming year, fishermen are still catching thresher sharks, evidence that this law, far from being effectively enforced, is nothing more than a toothless statement of intention to appease conservationists.

Spain’s huge longliner fleet, to which the environmentalists attribute massive excesses in overexploiting protected shark species, is one of the main contributors in the depletion of sharks around the world as a result of overfishing and the lack of management of the shark fishery at a national level.

Every time a shark is spotted off Spanish coast, municipalities tend to exaggerate its presence on news, creating a fear public reaction and undermining the plight of sharks rather than involving people to raise awareness on this critical international issue.

Ultimately, unless the government doesn’t take real action to punish local fishermen in order to protect the sharks – we will continue seeing endangered sharks being killed by longlines causing the loss of their crucial ecological presence in the ocean ecosystems and instead to become meat to be sold cheap in local markets for just 2.7 euros per kilo.

Ocean Sentry by Judith Pascual