Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Grim News for the Grey Nurse Sharks?

Over in Fiji and elsewhere folks are raising the fighting flag for sharks.

This time the Grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus) in Australia where a recent change in fisheries policy is taking this species off the protected list and open to fishing pressure.

What makes this particular case actionable is the fact this is a reversal of set conservation policy introducing an open fishing zone where these animals are known to aggregate and breed.

If this sounds like politics once again creeping into shark conservation, you have a good ear for bad conservation policy.

You can get the full scoop and send a well timed email to Fisheries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson this week at the Grey Nurse Blog.

Note: The image is from Montague Island circa 1964, when sharks were considered the enemy and images like these served to prove that point. We have come a long way since then, let's not let fisheries policy in Australia slide back at the hands of a few misinformed policy makers.

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