ABSTRACT
Achieving fisheries compliance is challenging in contexts where enforcement capacity is limited and the incentives for rule-breaking are strong. This challenge is exemplified in Myanmar, where an active shark fishery exists despite a nationwide ban on targeted shark fishing. We used the Kipling method (5W1H) to gather a complete story of non-compliance in five small-scale fishing communities in the Myeik Archipelago. Among 144 fishers surveyed, 49% were aware of the nationwide ban. Shark fishers (24%) tended to be younger individuals who did not own a boat and perceived shark fishing to be prevalent. Compliant fishers were motivated by a fear of sharks and lack of capacity (equipment, knowledge), whereas food and income were cited as key motivations for non-compliance. The results of our study emphasize that in resource-dependent communities, improving compliance for effective shark conservation may require addressing broader issues of poverty, food security and the lack of alternatives.
Subject(s)
Fisheries , Sharks , Animals , Conservation of Natural Resources , Humans , Myanmar , SeafoodABSTRACT
Sharks have been of great cultural and socioeconomic importance in Mexico since the late 19th century, when the first fisheries were prosecuted in the Gulf of California to export fins to China. Mexican shark and ray fisheries are classified mainly by the size of the fishing vessel and include small- (7.5-10m), medium- (10-27m), and large-sized (>27m) fisheries. All are multispecies fisheries that use longline or gillnet gear, with their relative productivity varying over time. Off the Pacific coast, early shark small size vessel fisheries in the Gulf of California were driven by the need for vitamin A from livers, especially during World War II. As this fishery declined, new shark fishing opportunities arose because of government support and the development of the medium-sized fishery, which was capable of farther offshore excursions. Shark meat became an important part of the diets of poor and impoverished citizens during the 1950s and 1960s. The establishment of a Mexican Exclusive Economic Zone in 1976 pushed foreign vessels from Asia out of Mexican waters and led to the development of the large-sized vessel fishery to exploit pelagic sharks in offshore waters. By the early 1980s, Mexico shark fisheries were among the most productive in the world; however, a national economic crisis reduced effort and landings until the late 1980s, when several new fisheries emerged. Landings from Pacific states fluctuated between ~13,000 and 24,000t (dressed weight) during 1987-2012 but expanded steadily thereafter because of government support and offshore fleet expansion. Shark fisheries landings from the Mexican Pacific are currently at their highest recorded levels, exceeding 31,000t; however, a lack of species-specific landings and life history information has precluded population assessments of targeted stocks. In addition, though several recent management measures have been enacted to protect Mexican shark and ray fishery resources, the enforcement of these regulations is severely lacking. Therefore, the long-term sustainability of current fishing levels is unknown but should engender concern based on anecdotal evidence of serial depletion among historical elasmobranch targets in the Mexican Pacific.
Subject(s)
Conservation of Natural Resources , Fisheries , Sharks , Animals , Mexico , Population DynamicsABSTRACT
Fishes at Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica, were surveyed as part of a larger scientific expedition to the area in September 2009. The average total biomass of nearshore fishes was 7.8 tonnes per ha, among the largest observed in the tropics, with apex predators such as sharks, jacks, and groupers accounting for nearly 40% of the total biomass. The abundance of reef and pelagic sharks, particularly large aggregations of threatened species such as the scalloped hammerhead shark (up to 42 hammerheads ha-1) and large schools of jacks and snappers show the capacity for high biomass in unfished ecosystems in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. However, the abundance of hammerhead and reef whitetip sharks appears to have been declining since the late 1990s, and likely causes may include increasing fishing pressure on sharks in the region and illegal fishing inside the Park. One Galapagos shark tagged on September 20, 2009 in the Isla del Coco National Park moved 255km southeast towards Malpelo Island in Colombia, when it stopped transmitting. These results contribute to the evidence that sharks conduct large-scale movements between marine protected areas (Isla del Coco, Malpelo, Galápagos) in the Eastern tropical Pacific and emphasize the need for regional-scale management. More than half of the species and 90% of the individuals observed were endemic to the tropical eastern Pacific. These high biomass and endemicity values highlight the uniqueness of the fish assemblage at Isla del Coco and its importance as a global biodiversity hotspot.
La biomasa promedio de peces costeros en el Parque Nacional Isla del Coco en septiembre de 2010 fue de 7,8 toneladas por hectárea, entre las más elevadas halladas jamás en zonas tropicales. Los grandes depredadores representaron el 40% de la biomasa total. La abundancia de tiburones costeros y pelágicos, particularmente las enormes agregaciones de tiburón martillo (hasta 42 individuos por hectárea) y los extensos bancos de carángidos y lutjánidos, muestran la capacidad que tienen los ecosistemas marinos no pescados para albergar elevadas biomasas de peces, y hacen de la Isla del Coco un lugar único en el mundo. No obstante, la abundancia de tiburones parece estar decreciendo desde 1999, probablemente a causa de la creciente presión pesquera en la región y la pesca ilegal en el interior del Parque. Un tiburón de Galápagos marcado se dirigió 255km en dirección a la Isla de Malpelo, Colombia. Estos resultados sugieren que los tiburones realizan importantes movimientos entre áreas marinas protegidas (Isla del Coco, Malpelo, Galápagos) en el Pacífico Tropical Oriental y remarcan la necesidad de una gestión regional de estos animales. Más del 50% de las especies y el 90% de individuos observados en los contajes eran endémicos del Pacífico Tropical Oriental.