UK’S efforts to save ‘cheetah of the sea’ shark vetoed by EU

AN ENDANGERED shark is at risk of becoming extinct after the European Union blocked the UK’S first independent conservation vote.

The Mako shark, the fastest in the world, faces rapid decline due to being fished, despite being endangered.

Known as “the cheetah of the sea”, it can swim at up to 43mph and can be seen leaping to look for prey. Ernest Hemingway detailed an encounter with the breed in The Old Man And The Sea.

The shark has declined by 99.99 per cent since the 19th century as it is sought for meat, fins and sport. Slow growth makes it exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing, yet it is not subject to international fishing quotas.

Ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said they were frustrated after a UK, Canada and Senegal motion calling for a fishing ban was voted down by the EU and the US. The vote at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas was the UK’S first official act as an independent ICCAT party.

The EU is the biggest culprit for fishing Mako; boats, mostly Portuguese and Spanish, are responsible for 65 per cent of all reported catches of shortfin makos in the North Atlantic.

The Shark Trust, a UK charity that worked with ministers, warned that the species could take five decades to come back from the brink of extinction.

“North Atlantic Mako depletion remains among the world’s most pressing shark conservation crises, yet the EU and US put short-term fishing interests above all else and ruined a golden opportunity for agreeing a clear and simple remedy,” said Ali Hood, the trust’s director of conservation.