Project AWARE Foundation Securing Shark Protection

Great! This Community Plan of Action (CPOA) for Sharks is a long time coming and more countries should follow up with their own plans.

Project AWARE Foundation Securing Shark Protection
Project AWARE website

Project AWARE Foundation recently joined fellow Shark Alliance members in Brussels to mark the release of the European Commission’s long awaited Community Plan of Action (CPOA) for Sharks and comment on its provisions. The plan, covering sharks and all cartilaginous fish, has potential to provide a comprehensive framework for change, encouraging science based catch limits, the protection of endangered species and the revision of EU shark finning regulation.

The UK Minister confirmed his commitment saying: “I strongly support the shark action plan. We must do everything we can to protect vulnerable species and ensure that stocks are exploited sustainably. Better science and information gathering are fundamental to the plan’s success. The UK will continue to work with the Commission, conservation groups and the fishing industry to ensure that this plan produces robust, workable and effective measures to protect and sustainably manage shark stocks.”

The CPOA for Sharks represents a significant step in the right direction for shark conservation and sustainable management, but it will only be effective if Member States act with a sense of urgency and commit to a robust timetable of implementation. Project AWARE considers the publication of the plan of action as the start of a long campaign to secure a sustainable future for sharks.