Indonesia's Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries: Stop Killing sharks

Please sign and share this petition worldwide in an effort to stop the Indonesia Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to take steps is protecting sharks when fishing for tuna and other catch. Too many sharks are caught up in the nets of one of the largest fisheries in the world. Something needs to be done to protect the endangered species of sharks while bringing up their tuna and fish catch.

It has been noted that one of the largest fisheries in the world is not only producing tons of tuna, their catches also includes metric tons of sharks. A majority of the sharks that are caught and killed are among the list of endangered species. A crane is used in an effort to bring the fish up and placed into a flat bed truck at the edge of the wharf in Indonesia. Among the catch are sharks with missing heads and fins and includes hammerhead, oceanic white tip, reef and saw tooth sharks.

More loads follow, including five canvas bags packed with fins destined for soup. Much of the shark meat will be processed for the domestic market, but the tuna is destined for consumers in Europe, America and Japan, few of whom realize they’re implicated in the killing of sharks on a massive scale. Indonesia is the number one producer of tuna, with so many sharks as part of their by product; the numbers are shocking, especially when numerous sharks affected are on the IUCNs red list of endangered species.

Although tuna is a main commodity of the Indonesian fisheries, they also have an important impact on shark populations. The big problem is a total lack of management regulations for most shark species — no catch quotas, no minimum sizes, and no fishing bans. Records show that Indonesia signed the United Nations International Plan for Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks in 1999, and has been developing a national plan of action ever since. Thus far, the plan is insufficient to sustain shark populations or the fisheries that harvest them.

The plan urgently needs to be strengthened, with full protection proposed for the most vulnerable species, and minimum sizes, catch quotas or other harvest controls for other, more resilient species harvested by both artisanal and industrial fisheries; gathering and assessing baseline data, establishing policies and protecting a few key ecosystems. However, laws need to be enforced in Indonesia with further monitoring and steps taken to ensure safer fishing methods that no longer harm the sharks that are already in peril of extinction.

Please sign and share this petition worldwide in an effort to stop the Indonesia Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to take steps is protecting sharks when fishing for tuna and other catch. Too many sharks are caught up in the nets of one of the largest fisheries in the world. Something needs to be done to protect the endangered species of sharks while bringing up their tuna and fish catch.