AWARE Shark Cons Lesson Guide v1 02 en

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver
Distinctive Specialty Course
- Lesson Guides -
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Product No. 72003 (Rev. 09/12) Version 1.02

Welcome to your course
 Introductions
 Course goals
 Course overview
 Class requirements
AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

Welcome Specialty Course
2
Click to view the
Sharks in Peril
video

Specialty Course
3
We’ll talk about . . .
SECTION 1: Sharks in Peril and why we should care
 Unique physical attributes of sharks

 Conservation status of sharks
 Life history traits that make sharks
vulnerable
 Importance to marine ecosystems
SECTION 1
Sharks in Peril
Continued . . .
4
SECTION 2: Managing threats and recognising values
 Threats to sharks
 Management strategies to protect
sharks
 Value to local economies
 Misperceptions of sharks
SECTION 2
Managing Threats
Continued . . .
5
SECTION 3: Taking action and joining the Project AWARE

movement
 Personal actions to protect sharks
 Your local sharks
 Responsible environmental
guidelines for diving with sharks
 Join the Project AWARE movement
SECTION 3
Taking Action

6
SECTION 1:
Sharks in Peril
and why we should care

Specialty Course
7
What are the unique physical
attributes of sharks?
 First sharks over 400 mya
 Modern sharks around 100 mya
 Found in every marine environment
 Roughly 500 species
 Most sharks have:
 a streamlined, torpedo shaped
body
 rigid dorsal and pectoral fins
 Most predators, some scavengers

or filter feeders
Continued . . .
S1: Sharks in Peril Specialty Course
8
What are the unique physical
attributes of sharks?
 Sharks have unique physical
attributes that make them
different from other fish:
 Skeleton made from
cartilage
 Large oiled filled liver
 Exposed gill slits
 Share these attributes with

rays, skates and chimaeras

9
What is the conservation
status of sharks?
30% of 1044 assessed sharks, rays and chimaeras are
Threatened or Near Threatened with extinction
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Red List Review of 1044 Shark, Ray and Chimaera Species
Critically Endangered 2% Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
Endangered 4% Very high risk of extinction in the wild
Vulnerable 11% High risk of extinction in the wild

Close to qualifying or likely to qualify for a threatened
Near Threatened 13%
category in the near future
Not qualifying as Threatened including widespread and
Least Concern 23%
abundant species
Data Deficient 47% More information required for assessment
Continued . . .
10
What is the conservation
status of sharks?
More alarming estimates
Species Location Status
 More alarming estimates:
Pelagic
Sharks and rays One third threatened with extinction
(open ocean)
NW & W Central
Hammerhead sharks Declined by 89% since 1986
Atlantic
Great hammerheads E Atlantic Declined by 80%
Porbeagle and spiny
NW Atlantic Reduced by 90%
dogfish sharks
Sharks Europe One third Threatened with extinction
14 species of sharks
Mediterranean Critically Endangered
and rays

11
What life history traits make
sharks vulnerable?
 Sharks vulnerable to overfishing
because:
 Long time to sexual maturity
 Long gestations
 Small number of offspring
 Breed only every 2nd or 3rd
year
 Strategy works under natural
conditions
 Fails when fishing removes many
individuals
Continued . . .
12
What life history traits make
sharks vulnerable?
 Compare shark reproductive
strategy with bony fish that:
 Release millions of eggs in a
lifetime, so
 More likely to recover from
fishing impacts
 Most fisheries management based
on bony fish strategy
 Sharks tend to form groups based

on age, gender and maturity
 Removal of older breeding age
females
Continued . . .
13
What is the importance of
sharks to marine ecosystems?
Crucial to maintain health of marine ecosystems
 Keep a balance among prey
species
 Often the apex predator
 Top of many food chains
 Feed on many different
species
 Change food when one
prey animal is hard to find

 Remove sick, injured and
diseased animals

14
Food chains describe how energy moves among species
Small
Starts with
Plants Herbivores carnivores
plants that
consumed consumed consumed
use the
by by by large
sun’s
herbivores carnivores carnivores
energy to
(plant (meat until apex
make their
eaters) eaters) predators
body parts
reached
Continued . . .
15
Removing animals from a food chain can have repercussions
throughout an ecosystem:
Fewer apex predators
more lower-level carnivores
fewer herbivores
more macroalgae
(e.g. seaweed, base of food chain)
Continued . . .
16
Relatively untouched reefs can show the impact of removing
apex predators (including sharks)
 Study at NW Hawaii Islands
 Apex predators:
 More than 50% of fish
biomass
 Less than 10% on fished
reefs
 Sharks are bigger
 Populations of all species are far
greater
 A larger variety of other species
Continued . . .
17
Sharks found to protect seagrass beds from over-grazing by
dugongs and green sea turtles:
 Prefer to eat in the middle of sea
grass bed
 Stay on outside when sharks
present
 Seagrass beds important habitat for
many species
Sharks keep marine environments healthy -

Important for all marine animals and for humans!

18
We’ve talked about
SECTION 1: Sharks in Peril and why we should care
 Unique physical attributes of sharks

 Conservation status of sharks
 Life history traits that make sharks
vulnerable
 Importance to marine ecosystems
Any Questions?

19
SECTION 2:
Managing threats and

recognising values

Specialty Course
20
What major threats contribute
to declines in shark populations?
It is mostly due to overfishing that many shark species
are threatened with extinction
 Targeted fisheries and as
bycatch
 Mainly caught for:
 Fins: to make shark fin
soup
 Meat: strong demand
from Europe
Continued . . .
S2: Managing Threats Specialty Course
21
 Total of annual shark catch:
 Nearly 80% - top 20 shark catching nations
 More than 35% - top 4 shark catching nations
The top 20 shark catching nations in order of size of catch, greatest take first
Rank Country Rank Country Rank Country Rank Country

1 Indonesia 6 Mexico 11 Thailand 16 Portugal
2 India 7 Pakistan 12 France 17 Nigeria
3 Spain 8 USA 13 Brazil 18 Iran
4 Taiwan 9 Japan 14 Sri Lanka 19 UK
5 Argentina 10 Malaysia 15 New Zealand 20 S Korea

Source: The Future of Sharks: A Review of Action and Inaction
Continued . . .
S2: Managing Threats Specialty Course Continued . . . 22
Some of the many uses of shark body parts
Species Part Where How
Most sharks Fins Global, but Shark fin soup
centered on Asia
Spiny dogfish Meat Europe
Spiny dogfish Meat UK Fish and Chips
Spiny dogfish Meat Germany To make Schillerlocken
Porbeagle Meat France Known as veal of the sea
Mako, thresher and Meat America Shark steaks
blacktip
Greenland and Meat Iceland and Used to produce hákarl
basking shark Greenland
Continued . . .
23
Some of the many uses of shark body parts
Part Where How

Meat Australia Known as flake, often used in fish and chips
Meat Global Products called fish may contain shark i.e. fish
fingers
Liver oil Global Many industrial uses
Shark skin A delicacy and also used to make leather
products
Liver oil and Said to have health benefits, though unproven
cartilage
Jaws and sold as souvenirs
teeth
Continued . . .
24
Difficult to estimate annual shark take
Countries have different reporting requirements, or none at all
 Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FOA) estimate of
shark, ray and chimaera catch:
 2003: 0.90 million tonnes
 2006: 0.75 million tonnes
 Unknown if decline due to:

 Better fisheries
management
 Less sharks
 Combination of both
Continued . . .
25
 Study of shark fin trade records shows FAO figures an
underestimate
 Found annual shark catch to support global shark fin trade to be:
 Between 1.21 to 2.29 million tonnes, with a median of 1.70
million tonnes
 Equivalent to between 26 and 73 million sharks
 Therefore 38 million sharks per year is the best estimate for the
global shark catch
 This figure does not include:
 Sharks killed for domestic fin markets
 Sharks discarded dead at sea
 Sharks killed for their meat only
Continued . . .
26
Shark Fin Soup
 Status symbol in Chinese
culture
 Demand fast outpacing supply
 Driving the global depletion of
shark populations
 Among the most valuable
fisheries products
 Bowl of soup can cost
US$100
Continued . . .
27
Shark Finning
 Removing a shark's fins at sea
 Often still alive
 Body dumped overboard

 Why do fishers do that?
 High value of fins / low value
of meat
 Why is this allowed to happen?
 Finning banned by many
countries, but
 Poor monitoring and
regulations
Continued . . .
28
Bycatch
 Part of a catch that is:
 not the target species, or
 undersized
 Can not be landed in many

regions
 Often dumped overboard
 Tens of millions of sharks
killed as bycatch every year
 Usually not recorded in fishery
records
Continued . . .
29
Other Impacts
 Habitat Loss
 75% coral reefs threatened
from local pressures and

climate change
 1/5th mangroves removed
since 1980
 Coastal Development
 Damages shark habitats
and nurseries

30
Other Impacts
 Marine debris
 Our rubbish in the ocean
 Sharks eat marine debris or
become entangled
 Ghost nets
 Swimmer protection devices

 Beach nets and baited drumlines
 Kills harmless sharks
 Kills other species: dolphins,
rays and turtles etc

31
What key management
strategies can protect sharks?
For shark fisheries to be sustainable, shark fisheries
management should:
 Be well-enforced, with science-
based catch limits
 Have conservation measures
consistent throughout the
range of each species
 Be science-based and take a
precautionary approach
 Aim to minimise waste
We will now look at some management strategies that can help

protect sharks
Continued . . .
32
What key management
International Plan of Action-Sharks (IPOA-Sharks)
 Shark fishing nations to implement a
National Plan of Action (NPOA) for the
conservation and management of sharks
 Aims to make shark fisheries sustainable
by:
 Assessing threats such as overfishing
 Protecting critical habitats
 Minimising waste and discards (e.g.
finning bans)
 Encouraging the full use of dead sharks
Continued . . .
33
What key management
International Plan of Action-Sharks (IPOA-Sharks)
 Should implement a Shark NPOA
by 2001:
 Voluntary
 As of 2011 only 13 of the Top
20 nations have a plan

 IPOA process has raised the
profile of sharks
 Led to some improvement in
shark fisheries management
Continued . . .
34
What key management
Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)
 Facilitate management of multi-
nation fishing:
 In international waters, or
 For highly migratory species
 Aims to conserve fish populations

through agreements
Continued . . .
35
What key management
Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)
 Slow to address shark overfishing
 Management based on fast
breeding bony fish
 Most RFMOs banned shark
finning
 But did not set international
shark fishing quotas for the

high seas
Continued . . .
36
What key management
Finning Bans
 Finning banned by most RFMOs
and nearly 30 countries
 Does not stop sharks being caught
 Aims to ensure shark carcasses
are kept after fins removed

 Stipulates a maximum fin to carcass
ratio allowed onboard
 Dump the carcass = exceed the
ratio
Continued . . .
37
What key management
Finning Bans
 IUCN recommends ratio not exceed
5% of dressed weight
 Dressed weight = heads and
guts removed
 Using whole weight creates a
loophole
 Allows 2 to 3 sharks to be finned
for every carcass kept

 Europe and Brazil bans specify
whole weight
 Sets a bad example
Continued . . .
38
What key management
Finning Bans
Most effective way to enforce finning bans

is to require that carcasses are landed
with fins naturally attached
 Finning bans could

dramatically reduce
shark mortality if
properly enforced
Continued . . .
39
What key management
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES)
 International agreement among
175 countries
 Regulates or bans international
trade in Threatened species
 Binding on member countries
 Resistance to listing sharks due
to commercial value
Continued . . .
40
What key management
Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
 As of 2011 only three sharks
included under CITES Appendix II:
 Basking Shark
 Whale Shark
 Great White Shark
 Proposals to list porbeagle,

hammerhead and oceanic whitetip
sharks rejected
Continued . . .
41
What key management
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
 Protect from extractive industries
 Fishing
 Mining
 Collecting for aquariums
 Known by variety of names

 marine parks
 aquatic reserves
 marine reserves
 sanctuary zones
 etc
Continued . . .
42
What key management
 Different levels of protection:
 Fully protected no-take zones
(all extractive activities banned),

or
 Multiple uses through a system
of zoning
Continued . . .
43
What key management
 Benefits of MPAs:
 Bony fish recover from
overfishing
 More fish in surrounding areas
 Economic advantages through
marine tourism
 Only around 1% of the world’s
ocean protected by MPAs
 Less than 0.1% of these MPAs are
no-take zones
Continued . . .
44
What key management
 Protects sharks when positioned
over key habitats:
 Where sharks congregate to
mate
 Nursery grounds
 Works best for sharks with

limited range
 Migratory sharks?
 If a network of MPAs covers
the range of habitats through

which the sharks migrate
Continued . . .
45
What key management
 Dive tourism can lead to the
creation of shark sanctuaries:
 Palau, 2009: entire ocean
territory
 Maldives, 2010: entire ocean
territory
 Bahamas and Honduras,
2011: territorial waters
Continued . . .
46
What key management
 To be effective shark sanctuaries
need:
 Management and monitoring
 Funding
 Patrols and enforcement
 Compensation for fishers, or
an alternate income
 Dive tourism is leading to local
and even national protection for
sharks
Continued . . .
47
What key management
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing
 Result of fisheries
management failures
 Level of illegal shark fishing
may not be high
 Few rules to break!
 Lack of species-specific
reporting a huge hindrance to
shark conservation

48
What is the value of sharks
to local economies?
Sharks provide economic benefits as a source of food and as
tourist attractions
 Continue to provide income
and protein for many people
if fished at a sustainable
level
The problem is not that we are fishing for sharks;

the problem is that in most cases
we are overfishing sharks Continued . . .
49
to local economies?
Sharks at popular dive centres have a greater value as tourist
attractions than when fished
Value of shark dive tourism to Value of shark dive tourism to

Palau the Maldives
$18 million per year US$3,300 one reef shark per year
US$1.9 million one reef shark US$33,500 one reef shark per
over its lifetime year at the most popular sites
US$108 one shark when fished US$32 one shark when fished
Continued . . .
50
to local economies?
Value of shark dive tourism to Value of shark and ray tourism
the Bahamas to the Canary Islands
US$800 million over a twenty €17.7 million annually
year period
429 jobs supported
US$250,000 one reef shark over
its lifetime
US$50-60 one shark when fished Value of shark dive tourism to

South Africa
US$4.1 million diving with great
Value of global whale shark white sharks, 2003
tourism
US$1.8 million diving with tiger
US$47.5 million in 2004 sharks, 2007
Continued . . .
51
to local economies?
 Dive tourism can:
 Improve appreciation of
sharks
 Create shark conservation
advocates
 This can lead to protection for
shark species not associated
with diving, such as those in
international waters

52
How do we remove common
misperceptions of sharks that are a barrier to conservation?
 Undeserved reputation as a
mindless killer
 Often portrayed as man-eaters
 Media often greatly exaggerates
shark attack stories
 1975 film Jaws portrayed sharks
as vengeful hunters of humans
Continued . . .
53
 The reality?
 Unlikely to attack
 International Shark Attack File 2010:

 79 unprovoked shark attacks
 Only 6 were fatal
 Shark attacks levelled off over last

30 years to average 63.5 per year
 Growing human population means
number of attacks should increase
 Falling shark populations the
possible explanation

54
Not understanding the variety of shark species another barrier to

protection
 Only about 10 species implicated
in unprovoked attacks
 Mostly bull, tiger, and white
sharks
 Most attacks thought to be
mistakes or explorations
Ocean the shark's home

 We choose to accept the risk
when we swim

55
SECTION 2: Managing threats and recognising values
 Threats to sharks
 Management strategies to protect
sharks
 Value to local economies
 Misperceptions of sharks
Any Questions?

56
SECTION 3:
Taking action and joining the

Project AWARE movement

Specialty Course
57
What personal actions
can I take to protect sharks?
Everyday Actions
 Get involved
 Make personal changes to
protect sharks
 Join campaigns
 Support Marine Protected Areas
 Tell others
 Respond to alarmist media
stories
 Support Project AWARE
 www.projectaware.org
 Tread lightly on the planet

Continued . . .
S3: Taking Action Specialty Course
58
Purchase Decisions
 If you choose to eat seafood
 Look for sustainable fisheries
 Sustainable Seafood
Guides
 Avoid products that contain
sharks
 Choose not to eat shark fin soup
 Avoid purchasing items that
contain shark products
 Support genuine ecotourism
operations
Continued . . .
59
Be an AWARE Diver
 Make your dives count
 Dive Against Debris®
 Be an AWARE diver
 10 Tips for Divers to
Protect the Ocean Planet

60
What sharks are found in our local area
and what is their conservation status?
Continued . . .
61
What sharks are found in our local area
and what is their conservation status?

62
Environmental Guidelines for
diving with sharks
These guidelines will help you minimise your impacts when
diving with sharks
 Be an AWARE diver  Do not descend on top of

sharks
 Do not block their movement by
swimming in front of them, allow  Do not get close to sharks
them to move away
 Be familiar with and follow
 Do not block their exit if they are local regulations and
inside a cave or overhang protocols
Always seek safety advice from a dive professional familiar with

sharks found at the dive site before diving with sharks
63
Join the Project AWARE movement
Project AWARE’s powerful movement for ocean protection starts

with you
 Ocean fighting for its life!
 2 major issues where divers can
make a difference
 Shark decline
 Marine debris
 Dive Against Debris® : underwater

survey of rubbish in our ocean
 Your data will:
 Cause changes that stop rubbish from
entering the ocean

 Reduce marine life death and injuries
Continued . . .
64
My Ocean – unique eco-networking site for ocean protection
 Dive Centres and AWARE

leaders
 Manage local
conservation events
Your
 Report data Your Blogs
Profile
 Connect with volunteers
 Explore My Ocean
 Create a profile
 Volunteer for events Your

Events
 Find new dive buddies
Continued . . .
65
Be an AWARE Diver
 Calls to action, petitions and
activities centered on our ocean
planet
 Think ocean protection every
time you dive
 Join the movement to protect our
ocean planet – one dive at a time
www.projectaware.org

66
SECTION 3: Taking action and joining the Project AWARE

movement
 Personal actions to protect sharks
 Your local sharks
 Responsible environmental
guidelines for diving with sharks
 Join the Project AWARE movement
Any Questions?

67
Join the Movement
www.projectaware.org

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AWARE Shark Conservation Diver

Distinctive Specialty Course

Product No. 72003 (Rev. 09/12) Version 1.02

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

SECTION 1: Sharks in Peril and why we should care

 Unique physical attributes of sharks

SECTION 2: Managing threats and recognising values

SECTION 3: Taking action and joining the Project AWARE

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

 Most predators, some scavengers

 Exposed gill slits

 Share these attributes with

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

Critically Endangered 2% Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

Endangered 4% Very high risk of extinction in the wild

Vulnerable 11% High risk of extinction in the wild

Data Deficient 47% More information required for assessment

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

 Small number of offspring

 Breed only every 2nd or 3rd

 Sharks tend to form groups based

 Top of many food chains

 Feed on many different

prey animal is hard to find

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

more lower-level carnivores

Sharks keep marine environments healthy -

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

SECTION 1: Sharks in Peril and why we should care

 Unique physical attributes of sharks

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

Managing threats and

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

 More than 35% - top 4 shark catching nations

Rank Country Rank Country Rank Country Rank Country

2 India 7 Pakistan 12 France 17 Nigeria

3 Spain 8 USA 13 Brazil 18 Iran

4 Taiwan 9 Japan 14 Sri Lanka 19 UK

5 Argentina 10 Malaysia 15 New Zealand 20 S Korea

Part Where How

 2006: 0.75 million tonnes

 Unknown if decline due to:

 Sharks discarded dead at sea

 Sharks killed for their meat only

 Body dumped overboard

 Can not be landed in many

from local pressures and

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

 Sharks eat marine debris or

 Swimmer protection devices

 Kills harmless sharks

 Kills other species: dolphins,

rays and turtles etc

AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Distinctive

We will now look at some management strategies that can help

 Protecting critical habitats

 Minimising waste and discards (e.g.

 As of 2011 only 13 of the Top

20 nations have a plan

 For highly migratory species

 Aims to conserve fish populations