Sharks and Rays – Part 2

Welcome to the Pacific Perspectives podcast, "Conservation Conversations with WWF Pacific". Welcome to WWF Pacific's Conservation Conversations podcast channel and the series "Pacific Fisheries Transparency - Navigating Solutions for Sustainable Seas". In this 10 episode series, we look at Pacific offshore fisheries, exploring crucial issues of transparency, sustainability and the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated IUU fishing. Join us as we look into the western and central Pacific Ocean, WCPO region. Uncovering insights, discussions and actionable steps towards safeguarding the future of our marine ecosystems. Your hosts are Mr. Sermay Tungiri and Mr. Andrew Iene. Your guides through these critical conversations. Supported by the European Union, the Government of Sweden and the Oceans 5 Initiative, WWF Pacific's Fiji Office is leading the charge in delivering essential projects. Through the Pacific European Union Marine Partnership (PUP) programme, we're driving international outreach and advocacy on IUU fishing and high seas fisheries control. But our efforts don't stop there. With improving fisheries transparency in Fiji project, funded by the Oceans 5 Initiative, we're championing transparency in the fisheries sector, paving the way for a brighter, more sustainable future. From in-depth discussions with experts, this podcast series promises to enlighten, inspire and empower. Together we can make a difference, together possible. Sambulwanaka, I'm your host, Andrew Iene. Welcome to another episode of WWF Pacific's Conservation Conversation Podcast Channel, podcast series, Pacific Fisheries Transparency, Navigating Solutions for Sustainable Seas. We are again diving into the world of sharks and rays, two vital species that play crucial roles in the health of our marine ecosystems. However, these incredible creatures face numerous threats and their conservation and protections are more important than ever. To discuss these pressing issues, we have Alfred Babukuk, the WCPU Tournament Manager for WWF, based in New Zealand, Bulwanaka Baba. So, Baba, in our last episode 7, you touched base on the current conservation status of sharks and rays, primary threats, this species face, initiative WWF is undertaken to address these challenges and also the most worrying trends or patterns you've observed regarding sharks by cats in the WCPU. So, in today's podcast 8, Baba, we will dive into one of the outcomes of the WCPFC 20 meeting held in 2023. And the first questions, Baba. The Commission noted the need to support better data collection and the utility of electronic technology for monitoring sharks interactions. In your opinion, what advancements are needed in data collection methods and how can electronic technology complement traditional monitoring approaches? Thanks for that. I think that there are a number of things that the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the scientific agencies can do to improve the data collection on sharks. First and foremost is having policies for the collection and retention and transmission of that data to the appropriate authorities to ensure that it goes on record. Information is currency in fisheries management and we have to have that information about those stocks if we genuinely want to address their management. So, it's critical that we not only collect, but we deliver that information to the appropriate authorities. Part of the problem is that we don't have adequate levels of observer coverage, particularly on long line vessels where we have at best in many cases 20%, but more often than not, the fisheries that are involved only achieve a 5% standard, which is statistically and practically meaningless for the purposes of assessing the impact on those stocks or much less whether those vessels are complying with any particular rules around shark finning or using wire leads on board those vessels. And so there's ways that we can address that first through policy, but also through technology. One particular technology that I think has an incredibly important role moving forward and particularly the long line fisheries is the use of electronic monitoring. And so a policy aspect of that is ensuring that the fishermen bring the shark alongside the vessel so the electronic monitoring can see the shark clearly before they release that shark either by removing the hook or cutting the line. And but we also have other tools that can be employed. For instance, artificial intelligence that does image recognition of those sharks that can help us identify, you know, the size and species of those sharks which I think is going to become increasingly available in a very short amount of time, thanks to rapid advancements and artificial intelligence. The other is the use of potential technologies such as genetic technologies that can be used to simply take a swab of a shark and and ultimately identify that species later as a result of regular observer activities on board those vessels. And there's also complementary technologies that I think could play an increasingly important role such as the spectrometry or spec spectography, you know, using light and refractive and reflective indications of light to identify species that we've only just begun to explore that could complement electronic monitoring. So I think there's a lot of potential for for technologies to help identify species identify the impacts on species, but that's only possible if we increase the coverage of those cameras on board those vessels. And that that is a critical policy point that has to be agreed first and and until we have purely 100% observer coverage on these vessels to ensure that if the intention is to release sharks alive so that they're able to reproduce and be a functional component of the ecosystem. So we're going to ensure that as if we have observers on board to ensure that sharks aren't being fined at sea and that and that the catches and mortality of sharks are fully accounted for in the management process. No, but so coming back to collaboration say, what will the regional and international collaborations play in the conservation of sharks and race and how can this collaboration be strengthened. At the regional level, we've already seen some momentum towards addressing shark conservation and first is with the establishment of sharks shark sanctuaries for instance like the one in Cook Islands and and and also shared management efforts to address shark conservation within the the waters of certain species, you know that's that's an important aspect at the national level and then at the regional level. You know the for instance the foreign fisheries agencies harmonized minimum terms and conditions of licensing to prohibit shark finning and practices it might contribute to shark finning and ensure you know levels of appropriate observer coverage as well for the domestic fleets of the members of the FFA. And the other level at looking at the international level of collaboration and cooperation, you know, there's no reason why there shouldn't be consistent requirements among the regional fisheries management organizations. If there is a prohibition on wire leads and one RFMO than that, you know, it only makes common sense that you would establish that prohibition for the purposes of protecting sharks shark stocks across all of those RFMOs. We're doing this patchwork of requirements that says that well, you're allowed to fish in the eastern Pacific, you know, in target sharks. So we shouldn't be required to be prohibited of having wire leads on board the vessel at all, we can just stow them away. We already know there's already evidence to indicate that this storage requirement in the western and central Pacific is functionally useless, because there have been vessels that have been identified that, you know, they of course they are quote unquote stowing them but when no one's looking, they're putting them in the water. And so unless you do a prohibition of having any wire leads on board those fishing vessels, it's really not meaningful in terms of monitoring and enforcement. So the only way we get there is if all of the RFMOs can agree that we need to protect these sharks, they're heavily depleted, they're easily overfished and we, you know, if we have intentions of maintaining a functional ecosystem in the context of even bigger threats such as climate change, you know, every piece matters, every component in the machine matters when it comes to the ecosystem and so we have to protect those sharks as part of the broader perspective of protecting the ecosystem in light of those climate change threats and IUU threats. So I think that there's just so much that the international and regional community can do to better address both policy and technology and just incentives around protecting shark species. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union, Government of Sweden and Oceans 5 Initiative. Its contents are the sole responsibility of WWF Pacific and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the Government of Sweden. And remember, the conversations doesn't end here. If you have questions, feedback or want to learn more about our work, feel free to reach out to us at info, that's I-N-F-O-R at www.pacific.org. You can also stay connected with us on Facebook, X or LinkedIn for the latest updates. Thank you for joining us on this journey towards a sustainable future for Pacific fisheries. Together, we can make a difference, together possible.