The Republic of the Marshall Islands has created the world's biggest shark reserve: so large that all of Mexico could fit comfortably inside. With new legislation, commercial shark fishing is now completely banned in Marshall Islands' 768,547 square miles (1,990,530 square kilometers) of ocean.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has created the world's biggest shark reserve: so large that all of Mexico could fit comfortably inside. With new legislation, commercial shark fishing is now completely banned in Marshall Islands' 768,547 square miles (1,990,530 square kilometers) of ocean.
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The new shark sanctuary not only bans commercial fishing, but deems that sharks caught as by-catch must be released. In addition any sale of sharks or shark parts on the islands is now prohibited.
After several species of shark have been decimated by over-fishing, this year has seen unprecedented movement towards protecting sharks by establishing massive no-kill zones for sharks.
"The Marshall Islands have joined Palau, the Maldives, Honduras, the Bahamas and Tokelau in delivering the gold standard of protection for ensuring shark survival," said Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group, in a press release. Rand adds that "as leaders recognize the importance of healthy shark populations to our oceans, the momentum for protecting these animals continues to spread across the globe."
Over the past few decades some shark populations have fallen by over 90 percent. Rising demand for shark-fin soup is partially to blame. An increasingly popular Asian delicacy, shark-fin soup is exactly what its name suggests. Sharks are caught, their fins sawed off, and often the animals' bodies—sometimes still alive—are thrown back into the water. Shark-finning, as the practice is known, is estimated to have killed an average of 38 million sharks per year between 1996 and 2000.
Article continues: http://news.mongabay.com/2011/1003-hance_sharks_marshallislands.html
