The Nitijela, the Marshallese parliament, unanimously passed legislation last week that ends commercial fishing of sharks in all 1,990,530 square kilometers (768,547 square miles) of the central Pacific country’s waters, an ocean area four times the landmass of California.
“We salute the Republic of the Marshall Islands for enacting the strongest legislation to protect sharks that we have seen,” said Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group, which is spearheading efforts to establish shark sanctuaries, where targeted fishing for these species is prohibited. “As leaders recognize the importance of healthy shark populations to our oceans, the momentum for protecting these animals continue to spread across the globe.”
Key provisions of the comprehensive Marshall Islands’ law include:
• A complete prohibition on the commercial fishing of sharks as well as the sale of any sharks or shark products. Its zero retention stipulation requires that any shark caught accidentally by fishing vessels must be set free.
• Large monetary fines, anywhere between $25,000 to $200,000, for anyone who is found to be fishing sharks or in possession of shark fins.
In addition, violators would be fined the market value of the product in their possession.
