|
The action plan,
reached through two years of collaborative research with the New
York-based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), will impose size
and capture limits on fishermen, set aside protected areas and
create closed seasons for shark-fishing, officials said.
The Cuban government has recognized its special place in the
world of sharks as scientists believe nearly 100 of the world's
500 shark species swim in Cuban waters, sustained by a
relatively healthy coral reefs, the EDF says.
Protecting shark populations also makes business sense for the
fishing and tourism industries. Scuba divers travel from around
the world to swim with Cuba's sharks.
"Cuba is considered the crown jewel of the Caribbean,
principally because of its incredible coral reef ecosystems, its
mangroves, its sea grasses," said Daniel Whittle, EDF's Cuba
program director. "Healthy sharks mean healthy corals. Healthy
corals mean healthy sharks."
Cubans fish sharks for their meat, and more aggressive
overfishing and environmental degradation elsewhere in the
Caribbean have taken their toll, which is why conservation needs
to be international, Whittle said.
The EDF last year put an electronic tag on one longfin mako
shark off Cuba that swam some 6,000 miles (10,000 km) over five
months, reaching the coast of New Jersey, Whittle said.
Cuba already has protective measures such as banning "finning,"
the harvesting of sharks only for their fins.
The new action plan "will empower scientists in Cuba ... who
will work directly with fishermen. That information will be used
by managers to develop new closed areas that sharks need for
nurseries, management measures to protect juveniles, rebuild
populations and help sustain them," Whittle said.
The plan builds on research developed by Cuban scientists who
have been working with fishermen for the past five years to
understand which species are most vulnerable.
"Getting fishermen involved in collecting data has been
critical," Jorge Angulo, senior scientist with Cuba's Center for
Marine Research, said in an EDF statement.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Alan Crosby)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
