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AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course - Lesson Guides -

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course - Lesson Guides -. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/.

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AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course - Lesson Guides -

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  1. AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course- Lesson Guides - This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Product No. 72003 (Rev. 09/12) Version 1.02

  2. Welcome to your course • Introductions • Course goals • Course overview • Class requirements AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course Welcome

  3. Click to view the Sharks in Perilvideo AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  4. We’ll talk about . . . SECTION 1: Sharks in Peril and why we should care Welcome • Unique physical attributes of sharks • Conservation status of sharks • Life history traits that make sharks vulnerable • Importance to marine ecosystems SECTION 1 Sharks in Peril Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  5. We’ll talk about . . . SECTION 2: Managing threats and recognising values Welcome • Threats to sharks • Management strategies to protect sharks • Value to local economies • Misperceptions of sharks SECTION 2 Managing Threats Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  6. We’ll talk about . . . SECTION 3: Taking action and joining the Project AWARE movement Welcome • Personal actions to protect sharks • Your local sharks • Responsible environmental guidelines for diving with sharks • Join the Project AWARE movement SECTION 3 Taking Action AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  7. SECTION 1: Sharks in Peril and why we should care AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  8. What are the unique physical attributes of sharks? • First sharks over 400 mya • Modern sharks around 100 mya • Found in every marine environment • Roughly 500 species • Most sharks have: • a streamlined, torpedo shaped body • rigid dorsal and pectoral fins • Most predators, some scavengers or filter feeders Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course S1: Sharks in Peril

  9. What are the unique physical attributes of sharks? • Sharks have unique physical attributes that make them different from other fish: • Skeleton made from cartilage • Large oiled filled liver • Exposed gill slits • Share these attributes with rays, skates and chimaeras AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course S1: Sharks in Peril

  10. What is the conservation status of sharks? S1: Sharks in Peril 30% of 1044 assessed sharks, rays and chimaeras are Threatened or Near Threatened with extinction Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  11. What is the conservation status of sharks? More alarming estimates S1: Sharks in Peril • More alarming estimates: AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  12. What life history traits make sharks vulnerable? • Sharks vulnerable to overfishing because: • Long time to sexual maturity • Long gestations • Small number of offspring • Breed only every 2nd or 3rd year • Strategy works under natural conditions • Fails when fishing removes many individuals Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course S1: Sharks in Peril

  13. What life history traits make sharks vulnerable? • Compare shark reproductive strategy with bony fish that: • Release millions of eggs in a lifetime, so • More likely to recover from fishing impacts • Most fisheries management based on bony fish strategy • Sharks tend to form groups based on age, gender and maturity • Removal of older breeding age females Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course S1: Sharks in Peril

  14. What is the importance of sharks to marine ecosystems? Crucial to maintain health of marine ecosystems S1: Sharks in Peril • Keep a balance among prey species • Often the apex predator • Top of many food chains • Feed on many different species • Change food when one prey animal is hard to find • Remove sick, injured and diseased animals AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  15. What is the importance of sharks to marine ecosystems? Food chains describe how energy moves among species S1: Sharks in Peril Small carnivores consumed by large carnivores until apex predators reached Starts with plants that use the sun’s energy to make their body parts Plants consumed by herbivores (plant eaters) Herbivores consumed by carnivores (meat eaters) Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  16. What is the importance of sharks to marine ecosystems? Removing animals from a food chain can have repercussions throughout an ecosystem: S1: Sharks in Peril Fewer apex predators more lower-level carnivores fewer herbivores more macroalgae (e.g. seaweed, base of food chain) Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  17. What is the importance of sharks to marine ecosystems? Relatively untouched reefs can show the impact of removing apex predators (including sharks) S1: Sharks in Peril • Study at NW Hawaii Islands • Apex predators: • More than 50% of fish biomass • Less than 10% on fished reefs • Sharks are bigger • Populations of all species are far greater • A larger variety of other species Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  18. What is the importance of sharks to marine ecosystems? Sharks found to protect seagrass beds from over-grazing by dugongs and green sea turtles: S1: Sharks in Peril • Prefer to eat in the middle of sea grass bed • Stay on outside when sharks present • Seagrass beds important habitat for many species Sharks keep marine environments healthy -Important for all marine animals and for humans! AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  19. We’ve talked about SECTION 1: Sharks in Peril and why we should care S1: Sharks in Peril • Unique physical attributes of sharks • Conservation status of sharks • Life history traits that make sharks vulnerable • Importance to marine ecosystems Any Questions? AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  20. SECTION 2: Managing threats and recognising values AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  21. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? It is mostly due to overfishing that many shark species are threatened with extinction S2: Managing Threats • Targeted fisheries and as bycatch • Mainly caught for: • Fins: to make shark fin soup • Meat: strong demand from Europe Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  22. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? • Total of annual shark catch: • Nearly 80% - top 20 shark catching nations • More than 35% - top 4 shark catching nations Source: The Future of Sharks: A Review of Action and Inaction Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course Continued . . . S2: Managing Threats

  23. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? Some of the many uses of shark body parts S2: Managing Threats Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  24. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? Some of the many uses of shark body parts S2: Managing Threats Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  25. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? Difficult to estimate annual shark take Countries have different reporting requirements, or none at all S2: Managing Threats • Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA) estimate of shark, ray and chimaera catch: • 2003: 0.90 million tonnes • 2006: 0.75 million tonnes • Unknown if decline due to: • Better fisheries management • Less sharks • Combination of both Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  26. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? • Study of shark fin trade records shows FAO figures an underestimate • Found annual shark catch to support global shark fin trade to be: • Between 1.21 to 2.29 million tonnes, with a median of 1.70 million tonnes • Equivalent to between 26 and 73 million sharks • Therefore 38 million sharks per year is the best estimate for the global shark catch • This figure does not include: • Sharks killed for domestic fin markets • Sharks discarded dead at sea • Sharks killed for their meat only Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course S2: Managing Threats

  27. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? Shark Fin Soup S2: Managing Threats • Status symbol in Chinese culture • Demand fast outpacing supply • Driving the global depletion of shark populations  • Among the most valuable fisheries products • Bowl of soup can cost US$100 Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  28. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? Shark Finning S2: Managing Threats • Removing a shark's fins at sea • Often still alive • Body dumped overboard • Why do fishers do that? • High value of fins / low value of meat • Why is this allowed to happen? • Finning banned by many countries, but • Poor monitoring and regulations Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  29. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? Bycatch S2: Managing Threats • Part of a catch that is: • not the target species, or • undersized • Can not be landed in many regions • Often dumped overboard • Tens of millions of sharks killed as bycatch every year  • Usually not recorded in fishery records Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  30. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? Other Impacts S2: Managing Threats • Habitat Loss • 75% coral reefs threatened from local pressures and climate change • 1/5th mangroves removed since 1980 • Coastal Development • Damages shark habitats and nurseries AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  31. What major threats contribute to declines in shark populations? Other Impacts S2: Managing Threats • Marine debris • Our rubbish in the ocean • Sharks eat marine debris or become entangled • Ghost nets • Swimmer protection devices • Beach nets and baited drumlines • Kills harmless sharks • Kills other species: dolphins, rays and turtles etc AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  32. What key management strategies can protect sharks? For shark fisheries to be sustainable, shark fisheries management should: S2: Managing Threats • Be well-enforced, with science-based catch limits • Have conservation measures consistent throughout the range of each species • Be science-based and take a precautionary approach • Aim to minimise waste We will now look at some management strategies that can help protect sharks Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  33. What key management strategies can protect sharks? International Plan of Action-Sharks (IPOA-Sharks) S2: Managing Threats • Shark fishing nations to implement a National Plan of Action (NPOA) for the conservation and management of sharks • Aims to make shark fisheries sustainable by: • Assessing threats such as overfishing • Protecting critical habitats • Minimising waste and discards (e.g. finning bans) • Encouraging the full use of dead sharks Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  34. What key management strategies can protect sharks? International Plan of Action-Sharks (IPOA-Sharks) S2: Managing Threats • Should implement a Shark NPOA by 2001: • Voluntary • As of 2011 only 13 of the Top 20 nations have a plan • IPOA process has raised the profile of sharks • Led to some improvement in shark fisheries management Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  35. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) S2: Managing Threats • Facilitate management of multi-nation fishing: • In international waters, or • For highly migratory species • Aims to conserve fish populations through agreements Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  36. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) S2: Managing Threats • Slow to address shark overfishing • Management based on fast breeding bony fish • Most RFMOs banned shark finning • But did not set international shark fishing quotas for the high seas Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  37. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Finning Bans S2: Managing Threats • Finning banned by most RFMOs and nearly 30 countries • Does not stop sharks being caught • Aims to ensure shark carcasses are kept after fins removed • Stipulates a maximum fin to carcass ratio allowed onboard • Dump the carcass = exceed the ratio Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  38. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Finning Bans S2: Managing Threats • IUCN recommends ratio not exceed 5% of dressed weight • Dressed weight = heads and guts removed • Using whole weight creates a loophole • Allows 2 to 3 sharks to be finned for every carcass kept • Europe and Brazil bans specify whole weight • Sets a bad example Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  39. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Finning Bans S2: Managing Threats Most effective way to enforce finning bansis to require that carcasses are landed with fins naturally attached • Finning bans could dramatically reduce shark mortality if properly enforced Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  40. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) S2: Managing Threats • International agreement among 175 countries • Regulates or bans international trade in Threatened species • Binding on member countries • Resistance to listing sharks due to commercial value Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  41. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) S2: Managing Threats • As of 2011 only three sharks included under CITES Appendix II: • Basking Shark • Whale Shark • Great White Shark • Proposals to list porbeagle, hammerhead and oceanic whitetip sharks rejected Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  42. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) S2: Managing Threats • Protect from extractive industries • Fishing • Mining • Collecting for aquariums • Known by variety of names • marine parks • aquatic reserves • marine reserves • sanctuary zones  • etc Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  43. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) S2: Managing Threats • Different levels of protection: • Fully protected no-take zones (all extractive activities banned), or • Multiple uses through a system of zoning Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  44. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) S2: Managing Threats • Benefits of MPAs: • Bony fish recover from overfishing • More fish in surrounding areas • Economic advantages through marine tourism • Only around 1% of the world’s ocean protected by MPAs • Less than 0.1% of these MPAs are no-take zones Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  45. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) S2: Managing Threats • Protects sharks when positioned over key habitats: • Where sharks congregate to mate • Nursery grounds • Works best for sharks with limited range • Migratory sharks? • If a network of MPAs covers the range of habitats through which the sharks migrate Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  46. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) S2: Managing Threats • Dive tourism can lead to the creation of shark sanctuaries: • Palau, 2009: entire ocean territory • Maldives, 2010: entire ocean territory • Bahamas and Honduras, 2011: territorial waters Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  47. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) S2: Managing Threats • To be effective shark sanctuaries need: • Management and monitoring • Funding • Patrols and enforcement • Compensation for fishers, or an alternate income • Dive tourism is leading to local and even national protection for sharks Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  48. What key management strategies can protect sharks? Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing S2: Managing Threats • Result of fisheries management failures • Level of illegal shark fishing may not be high • Few rules to break! • Lack of species-specific reporting a huge hindrance to shark conservation AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  49. What is the value of sharks to local economies? Sharks provide economic benefits as a source of food and as tourist attractions S2: Managing Threats • Continue to provide income and protein for many people if fished at a sustainable level The problem is not that we are fishing for sharks; the problem is that in most cases we are overfishing sharks Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

  50. What is the value of sharks to local economies? Sharks at popular dive centres have a greater value as tourist attractions than when fished S2: Managing Threats Continued . . . AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive Specialty Course

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