Shark Specific protection

Many different instruments can be used to bring greater protection to an area. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a fully protected area. Sometimes, a shark sanctuary or a shark fishing ban is more appropriate, and can be much larger than a general protected area, because it doesn’t have to affect fishing for other species.

Pew Charitable Trust Shark Sanctuaries around the world (2018), includes a downloadable PDF

Comprehensive Shark Fishing Bans:

  • Bahamas: Banned shark fishing, as well as the sale, import, and export of shark products.

  • Palau: Banned shark fishing.

  • Honduras: Banned shark fishing.

  • Maldives: Banned shark fishing.

  • Hawaii: Banned shark fishing

  • French Polynesia: No shark fishing except Mako sharks.

  • Marshall Islands: No commercial shark fishing, sale, or trade of shark fins.

  • Cook Islands: No commercial shark fishing, sale, or trade of shark products.

  • Tokelau Islands: No shark fishing in territorial waters.

  • Fiji: No shark fishing.

  • Brunei: No harvest and importation of shark products.

  • Kiribati: No commercial fishing in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area and the Southern Line Islands. 

  • This list is not complete: Some US States (i.e., Florida) protect some species of sharks in State waters, and some countries (i.e., Mexico) protect some species during certain seasons. Listing all details is beyond our capacity at this time.

Protected AreaS

The creation of protected areas in the ocean is a topic that is now firmly placed at the forefront of the conservation agenda. Plans for 2020 were set, and mostly, these goals weren’t reached. Currently, only 3% of the ocean is fully or highly protected. 2025 and 2030 goals have been set, but the execution of any regional, national, or international goal can only be met if many entities in all countries that rule over parts of the ocean are actually working on it.

In many regions, a mixed-use approach is more practical. In the last 20 years, species-specific sanctuaries (whales, sharks, turtles) have been established in different parts of the world, and sometimes protecting one charismatic species brings with it a domino effect of conservation and sustainable development. On a higher level, there are UNESCO sites, Hope spots, Biospheres, and National Marine Parks. On an international level, there are UN agreements for sustainable development, high seas treaties, and hopefully, in the future, high seas MPAs. It’s a tangled network of designations, laws, and agreements. And as usual, none of them are perfect in themselves, but the more range and flexibility there is in getting started with protecting an area, the more likely it is to happen. And it is the cumulative effect of all designations that will bring us closer to the goals. There are many great tools that are being developed to help guide us on this path forward. We will feature some of them here to give a basic understanding of the landscape.

(There are constantly new developments in this world of agreements and conventions. We may not always have the most recent information. Links are provided that will help you dig deeper and get the most accurate data of the current time)