BETTER DATA COLLECTION in SHARK FISHERIES LEARNING from PRACTICE Cover Image: Cacaodesign.It FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular No
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NFIF/C1227 (En) FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular ISSN 2070-6065 BETTER DATA COLLECTION IN SHARK FISHERIES LEARNING FROM PRACTICE Cover image: cacaodesign.it FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular No. 1227 NFIF/C1227 (En) BETTER DATA COLLECTION IN SHARK FISHERIES LEARNING FROM PRACTICE by Monica Barone Fishery Resources Consultant FAO Fisheries Department Rome, Italy and Kim Friedman Senior Fishery Resources Officer FAO Fisheries Department Rome, Italy FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2021 Required citation: FAO. 2021. Better data collection in shark fisheries – Learning from practice. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular No. 1227. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb5378en The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-134622-8 © FAO, 2021 Some rights reserved. 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The original [Language] edition shall be the authoritative edition.” Disputes arising under the licence that cannot be settled amicably will be resolved by mediation and arbitration as described in Article 8 of the licence except as otherwise provided herein. The applicable mediation rules will be the mediation rules of the World Intellectual Property Organization http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rules and any arbitration will be conducted in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Third-party materials. Users wishing to reuse material from this work that is attributed to a third party, such as tables, figures or images, are responsible for determining whether permission is needed for that reuse and for obtaining permission from the copyright holder. The risk of claims resulting from infringement of any third-party-owned component in the work rests solely with the user. Sales, rights and licensing. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected]. iii PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2006, FAO and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) collaborate to improve research and data collection on the commercially exploited aquatic species listed in the CITES Appendices. This work applies to both fisheries and trade and takes place at the species level. The aim of this review was to investigate the most common, useful procedures and information metrics employed across data collection programmes, and to highlight the main impediments to the accurate recording of fisheries information on bycatch of elasmobranch species. The management measures and data collection frameworks adopted by the relevant regional management bodies provided necessary background information to highlight those shark species regulated under “no retention” measures, in addition to key shark species for which data collection is mandatory or advisable. Financial support for this document was provided by the European Union as part of a FAO - CITES UN to UN project “Ensure the sustainability, legality and traceability of international trade in CITES-listed species” (EP/INT/334/UEP). iv ABSTRACT Some species and stocks of sharks, rays, skates and chimaeras (termed shark in this review) are rapidly depleting due to climate change, land-based influences and overfishing. These pressures, coupled with sharks’ low reproductive potential (slow growth and delayed maturation; long reproductive cycles; low fecundity; and long lifespans) place sharks in a risk profile that is more akin to mammals on land than fish in the ocean. The development of policy, and the delivery of management and conservation measures regulating the use, international trade and capture of sharks (whether as a targeted species or as bycatch in fisheries), is hindered by gaps in basic knowledge – a knowledge that is required in order to get a clear sense of their status in real time. Many countries are establishing or strengthening monitoring across shark value chains to overcome these shortfalls in information. This document reviews what shark fisheries data is being collected, highlighting the opportunities and constraints in collecting information on sharks in fisheries, based on practical experience. It includes information from 28 surveys across 19 countries: 9 in the Mediterranean, 5 in Africa, 3 in Asia and 1 in Oceania. Interviews were conducted with data collectors and managers across the entirety of the survey process, while data collection variables were documented in order to inform those interested in the collection, provision and exchange of shark information on common practices and their commonalities. The review identifies standardized information metrics which, if collected more generally, would strengthen the opportunity for harmonized reporting and cross-comparability across surveys. In addition – and in order to assess the status quo – the current data collection requirements of management measures applied to sharks by regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) were reviewed, including “no retention” measures. Finally, the review proposes a list of the minimum standard measurements and common life-history parameters required to support the assessment of shark stocks in fisheries. v CONTENTS Preparation of this document .............................................................................................................................. iii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................ iv Abbreviations and acronyms ................................................................................................................................ ix Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................... viii Section 1 – Overview of the objectives of data collection for sharks .............................................................. 1 International collaboration in shark management and conservation .................................................................. 3 Defining a list of priority sharks, rays and chimaeras ................................................................................ 3 Stock assessment methodologies and reference points .............................................................................. 4 Data collection requirements and procedures ............................................................................................. 5 Purpose and aims of this review ......................................................................................................................... 6 Target audience and methodology of this review ............................................................................................... 6 Section 2 – Study methodology .......................................................................................................................... 8 Background information on regional data collection frameworks ..................................................................... 8 Planning and setting up the interviews ............................................................................................................... 8 Section 3 – Data requirements, measurements and parameters ................................................................... 10 Custom groups of sharks, rays and chimaeras .................................................................................................. 10 Regional fisheries management organizations: no retention measures and data collection requirements ....... 11 Data collection requirements