BLUE SHARKS WITHOUT BORDERS

Blue sharks are the world’s most heavily fished sharks. Because they roam across international borders, they are hard to protect. A staggering 60,000 tonnes was landed from the Atlantic alone in 2015, yet there are no catch limits. In the north-east Atlantic, blue sharks are covered by an EU regulation preventing the removal of fins at sea, but loopholes mean the practice continues, and there is also a growing market for shark meat in the EU. On top of this, a vast international fishing fleet zeroes in on the same productive areas as the sharks, leaving them vulnerable to wasteful bycatch, especially in long-line fisheries. The Shark Trust is calling for limits to catches of blue sharks, as well as for shortfin mako, tope, smooth-hounds and catsharks, none of which are regulated.