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Sharkproject Austria

SHARKPROJECT

SHARKPROJECT Austria is the Austrian country organisation of Sharkproject International, an international environmental NGO.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Caroline Roose (Member of the European Parliament) and SHARKPROJECT Germany e. V.

8 Jun 2023 · Requins océan Indien et commerce ailerons

Response to Action plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems

16 Apr 2021

We appreciate the plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems as this is an long time overdue and urgently needed initiative if we want to prevent the complete collapse of marine ecosystems and the projected dramatic loss of marine biodiversity. Especially an increase of the selectivity of fishing gear and practices will be key to reduce the extent of bycatch and the threateningly increasing number of species being threatened by extinction. Therefore we explicitly appreciate the intended review of gear impact on bycatch and seabed integrity but would appreciate a clearer definition of the focus on reducing / eliminating this impact with a priority focus on most vulnerable and threatened species or species group. As only 'marine mammals, marine reptiles, seabirds' are explicitly mentioned in the roadmap we would want to emphasize the need to also explicitly review and focus on sharks and rays, with the subclass of elasmobranchs comprising among the biggest number of species classified as threatened by the IUCN already. Therefore the inclusion of fishing gear having a strong impact on sharks and rays such as longlines, gill nets and dFADs should also be included into this review besides bottom trawl. And as this initiative provides a unique opportunity to review the need for improvements in the selectivity of fishing gear and reduction of bycatch of ETP species in conjunction with the definition of available and effective management measures we would appreciate if the roadmap includes a list of measures being defined that are addressing gear type specific and species specific measures rather than general recommendations. Besides the definition of stricter regulations for MPAs, also retention bans for threatened species, limiting of temporal or spacial use of gear types outside MPAs and enforcement measures should be included in an envisioned outcome of the consultation - accompanied by a specific time schedule for implementation. Furthermore we are hoping that environmental NGOs and species experts will be invited to participate into these discussions and review so that we can provide direct input into the next steps rather than being just allowed to comment on the outcome. Thank you
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