Palau and Honduras urge the world to protect sharks

(Left to Right) Porfirio Lobo Sosa next to Johnson Toribiong. (Photo: presidencia.gob.hn) Palau and Honduras urge the world to protect sharks

HONDURAS
Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 23:00 (GMT + 9) Having decided to ban shark fishing in its waters, the governments of Honduras and Palau are calling on other countries to take action to protect this endangered species. The presidents of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, and Palau, Johnson Toribiong, signed a joint declaration in New York where they invited other world leaders to take action to halt the decline of shark populations, considering that it is a marine species threatened by commercial fishing. "We are very proud to be protecting our environment and ensuring something which is as important to the world as it is to the sustainability of our ecosystems," said the president of Honduras. He also mentioned that Palau had already expressed its commitment to the proposal last year. Both presidents called on the coastal countries "to establish sanctuaries in its waters that do not allow shark fishing, and that all fishing nations of the world, end practices of shark finning and overfishing of these marine animals." "Our decision to protect sharks was not only for our generation, but especially for those to come," said Lobo Sosa. Since last February, Honduras established a moratorium on fishing for all species of sharks in its waters. For its part, Toribiong said: "We understand that shark populations, are now in a good condition, as we also maintain the health of our seas", reports EFE news agency. The president of Honduras also pointed out that the price of shark fins in the international market caused fishermen to fish beyond catch limits. According to global statistics, every year people kill around 73 million sharks, since marketing is not regulated. Sharks have numerous different features: they are slowly growing, mature late and produce few offspring during their long life. Therefore, it is a species which is extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and that is slow to recover. "Scientists have linked overfishing of sharks to imbalances in stocks, the collapse of other fisheries and degradation of coral reefs," said Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group. "Palau and Honduras are world leaders in the conservation of sharks, and we call on other coastal countries and countries with large commercial fishing fleets to accept this challenge and take action," he added. The agreement signing ceremony held in New York, was also attended by the Minister of Planning and External Cooperation of Honduras, Arturo Corrales Álvarez, the ambassador of that country to the United Nations, Lizzy Flores, and the Deputy Foreign Minister, Mireya Aguero and Head of Security, Armando Calidonio.

View the original article here