| UK. Knight wades in to save shark from man |
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| Wednesday, 23 November 2005 | |
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Conservation news: The UK is pressing world governments to agree to new measures to ensure the survival of a much-loved but increasingly rare shark and a rarely seen seabird. Both the Basking shark and the Henderson petrel are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List - the World Conservation Union's list of species most at risk from global extinction. UK Biodiversity Minister Jim Knight is now asking nations to commit to taking steps to protect both species and to conserve or restore their habitats, reduce obstacles to their migration and control other factors that might endanger them. He also wants states in whose territorial waters Basking sharks live or breed, or to which they migrate, to co-operate internationally and reach agreements to protect this species. The enormous, plankton-eating Basking shark is the largest shark found in UK waters and can be spotted near the surface of the sea in the summer months, mainly off the coast of South-West England, the Isle of Man and the West of Scotland. The world's second largest fish can grow to 11 metres long and 7 tonnes in weight. It takes 12-20 years to reach maturity, has a long gestation period and gives birth to few young. This means that when they are commercially fished the local population is very vulnerable to depletion and can take many years to recover. Jim Knight said: "We are incredibly lucky to have the Basking shark as a regular visitor to our shores and it is appalling that an unsustainable demand for its meat and fins could be a real threat to its future. The Basking shark is an amazing creature and I am determined that we do everything in our power to protect it." "It has been protected in UK waters since 1998 and in 2002 we were successful in getting the Basking shark listed on CITES - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - which now enables us to monitor and regulate international trade. Through Defra-funded research we have confirmed the scale of movements in EU waters." "I am now asking all 93 contracting parties to the Convention on Migratory Species to agree to add the Basking shark to both Appendices 1 and 2, as the next step in ensuring international collaboration to protect it further." The majority of the world's population of the rare seabird Henderson petrel breeds on the tiny, uninhabited Henderson Island, one of the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Just 37 square kilometers, Henderson Island is a UK Overseas Territory and a World Heritage Site. It is probably the world's best remaining example of an elevated coral atoll ecosystem. As a result of volcanic elevation, the island plateau is protected from the periodic inundation of the sea during cyclones, which is typical feature of lower atolls. This has allowed colonising species such as the Henderson petrel to breed there. The Henderson petrel's decline is believed to be caused mainly by predation by rats, although this is now being addressed through various initiatives, including rat eradication programmes funded by the UK Government. Listing on Appendix 1 of the Convention on Migratory Species could save it from extinction. The UK is backing proposals put forward by other countries to give extra protection to several other species including the gorilla, two Mediterranean dolphin species and several African and Latin American bird and bat species, by adding them to Appendices I and 2 of the Convention on Migratory Species. The UK is also recommending steps to engage whole new communities, for example fishing communities, in protecting vulnerable migratory species. Jim Knight explained: "Within marine systems in much of the world, the total population both of targeted species of fish and of those caught incidentally has been reduced to one tenth of the levels prior to the onset of industrial fishing. "3.5 billion people depend on the ocean for their primary source of food, and 300,000 seabirds - of which over 100,000 are albatrosses - have been killed by long-line fishing. This is neither sustainable nor necessary to economic development, and can be relatively cheaply addressed." "The UK is already taking steps in its Overseas Territories, many of which are very important for the protection and conservation of several migratory species, including albatrosses and petrels, turtles and cetaceans. The Overseas Territories provide important breeding and feeding sites." "For example, we have funded projects on turtles around St Helena, the Caribbean and in the Indian Ocean as well as an albatross and petrel conservation programme around the Falkland Islands." "And we are seeing exciting partnership arrangements emerge, some of which follow the examples set out at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. These coalitions of like-minded states, non-government organisations and individual experts can achieve a great deal, without the degree of bureaucracy that traditional arrangements have involved." "It is vital that people see the economic and social benefits of conserving their natural resources," he said. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 23 November 2005 ) |
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