Spaniards lobby Madrid on shark protection: campaigners

WATER WORLD

Environmental group defends Canada's seal hunt
A Quebec environmental group on Wednesday called on the European Parliament not to ban seal products, saying it would hurt the Gulf of Saint Lawrence ecosystem and local communities. Nature Quebec, part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said in a letter to EU parliamentarians that a proposed ban "could have grave consequences" for residents of the Magdalen Islands and Newfoundland province. If the 350-year-old seal hunt were stopped now it also would damage the "ecological balance" of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, it said. The group cites studies which found that the seal population, if unchecked, would boom and threaten North Atlantic cod stocks. It also notes that the annual cull does not threaten the local seal population, estimated at 5.5 million in 2006. Last week, the European Union's legislative branch voted to ban products derived from seals from being imported into the EU, exported from it, or even transported through EU territory. The Canadian government responded with an ardent defense of the "humaneness" of seal-hunting and rejected efforts to outlaw the practice. The full European Parliament is to vote on the ban at a April 1 plenary session in Brussels. The measure also has to be approved by EU governments before it can be implemented. Each year, animal rights groups clash with sealers and Canadian fisheries officials on Canada's Atlantic coast, denouncing the hunt as cruel. "In our opinion, the international campaign against (the hunt) has no scientific foundation and has nothing to do with the way the animals are treated," Nature Quebec said. The group's director Christian Simard told AFP: "From an ecological standpoint, widespread opposition to the seal hunt is due to the graphic nature of bloody images of seals being clubbed to death." Seals are hunted mainly for their pelts, but also for meat and fat, which is used in beauty products. According to the European Commission, Canada, Greenland, and Namibia account for about 60 percent of the 900,000 seals hunted each year, with Canada being the biggest source. Seals are also hunted in Iceland, Norway, Russia, and the United States as well as in EU member states Britain, Finland and Sweden.

by Staff Writers
Madrid (AFP) March 12, 2009
Thousands of Spaniards have signed a petition demanding greater protection for sharks from overfishing, marine protection campaigners Oceana said Thursday.

The document, signed by about 13,000 people, has been handed to Spain's marine ministry, the group working with fellow environmental campaigners the Shark Alliance said in a statement.

According to these organisations, Spain is fourth in a world league table for shark fishing, with the European Union, "principally due to Spain," a global hotspot for shark "capture, consumption and commerialisation."

"We are asking the Spanish government to protect sharks" through "the rapid application" of conservation measures outlined in a European Commission action plan drawn up in February, the statement added.

The Commission recommended that fishing boats be banned from hacking off valuable fins on board then throwing the rest of the shark back in the water.

Its plan also includes possible temporary fishing exclusion zones to protect young or reproducing sharks and tightened rules on fishing gear to minimise unwanted catches and ensure such catches are released back into the water.

Oceana and the Shark Alliance said that measures should also include quotas based on scientific research, saying "urgent action" was needed to avoid the "exhaustion of species vital to marine ecology."

EU member countries are due to present their responses to the action plan by April, with the package requiring approval by member states and the EU parliament.

A recent study by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature suggests that as many as one-third of the shark species caught in EU waters are threatened by excessive fishing.

Sharks are targeted by British, French, Spanish and Portuguese fleets, with the Spanish fishing fleet taking more than half of the European catch of around 100,000 tonnes each year, according to the Shark Alliance, which provided Brussels with data.

Shark meat is served in restaurants across Europe, including at traditional British fish-and-chip shops, according to WWF.

The European Commission said that between 1984 and 2004, world shark catches grew from 600,000 to over 810,000 tonnes per year.

Of these, more than half are taken in the North Atlantic, including in the North Sea.

earlier related report
Animal welfare groups oppose whale sharks at Singapore casino
Singapore (AFP) March 12 - Seven local and international animal welfare groups have launched an online campaign opposing plans by a Singapore casino developer to import whale sharks for its planned aquarium.

The campaign's website on Wednesday called on the public to "voice their opinions" on plans to buy in the whale sharks, described as the largest living fish species.

Resorts World at Sentosa is building a casino that will feature a Marine Life Park set to become the world's biggest sea water aquarium.

The oceanarium will have 700,000 fish in 20 million gallons (76 million litres) of water, Resorts World at Sentosa said on its website.

But the seven organisations, including the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, oppose having whale sharks in the facility.

The sharks, which are commonly found to be more than 10 metres (33 feet) long, but are thought to grow much longer, are listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the groups said.

"No man-made environment, no matter how large, could accommodate the needs of a whale shark," they said in a statement.

"Whale sharks can dive up to 980 metres (3,234 feet) and migrate over 13,000 kilometres (8,060 miles) and evidence has shown that they fare poorly in captivity."

They cited the case of two whale sharks that died within five months of each other in a "state-of-the-art" aquarium in the United States.

Campaign coordinator Jaki Teo told AFP they have received more than 100 emails overnight.

"We hope government organisations will support us on this because this concerns Singapore's international image. It's not just a tourist attraction, people will come and say 'what's a whale shark doing in Singapore?'" she said.

Resorts World at Sentosa defended plans to include whale sharks in the oceanarium, saying the threat the animals faced "makes the role of aquariums in their conservation all the more crucial".

The Marine Life Park's goal is to "help protect the species' wild population from disappearing" and it has worked closely with marine experts to give the animals "top-class care," it said.

Resorts World at Sentosa has said its casino project is on track for a phased opening from early 2010.

It will also feature hotels and a Universal Studios theme park.

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WATER WORLD

Sea levels to surge 'at least a metre' by century end

Copenhagen (AFP) March 10, 2009
Months before make-or-break climate negotiations, a conclave of scientists warned Tuesday that the impact of global warming was accelerating beyond a forecast made by UN experts two years ago.

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