PRESS RELEASE: Better late than never: Mexico fulfills international obligations to protect Atlantic sharks

Shark League welcomes overdue bans on bigeye thresher, oceanic whitetip, shortfin mako, hammerhead and silky sharks

Washington, D.C. - The Shark League is expressing relief that the government of Mexico has at long last adopted national regulations to protect a suite of threatened Atlantic shark species, in line with commitments made from 2009 to 2021 under the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). Mexico, a major shark fishing and trading country, has come under increasing scrutiny from other governments and conservation groups for failure to demonstrate compliance with international shark conservation commitments.

“Although long overdue, Mexico’s new shark protections have the potential to significantly bolster international conservation efforts for some of the Atlantic’s most imperiled species,” said Sonja Fordham, President of Shark Advocates International. “In addition to reducing fishing pressure, the new bans can serve to inspire other countries to follow suit and live up to their various, urgent treaty obligations for sharks.”

According to a recent announcement by the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mexican longline fisheries that target tuna but catch sharks incidentally in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the ICCAT Convention Area are no longer allowed to retain on board, store, transship, and land (whole or parts of):

• bigeye threshers (Alopias superciliosus)
• oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus)
• shortfin makos (Isurus oxyrinchus)
• hammerheads (Genus Sphyrna, except for Sphyrna tiburo, bonnethead sharks), and
• silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis).

If captured, these shark species must be released in the best possible condition for survival.

“Most of the shark species subject to Mexico’s new retention bans — including the Critically Endangered oceanic whitetip and the exceptionally vulnerable bigeye thresher — were granted protections by ICCAT well over a decade ago,” said Ali Hood, Director of Conservation for the Shark Trust. “We simply must pick up the pace and raise the priority for implementing these vital safeguards.”

ICCAT’s Compliance Committee scrutinizes adherence to ICCAT’s shark measures through examination of annual reports submitted by member governments. Mexico has long been among the countries called out to explain lacking data and regulations for sharks. Mexico also featured prominently in a Shark League Atlantic gap analysis.

“Because effective international conservation of migratory species depends on follow-up actions at the national level, we will continue to highlight gaps in countries’ compliance with ICCAT shark measures.” said Shannon Arnold, Associate Director for Ecology Action Centre. “We’re pleased to see Mexico finally following through on its shark obligations and we hope to soon hear about more progress by the many other ICCAT countries that are still lagging behind with requirements to similarly protect these sharks by amending their national laws.