A Bull Shark in Fijian waters with a large fishing hook in its mouth.

Credit:   Filephoto: Nathan Ciurzynski / Marine Photobank

The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) is shocked by the re-approval of the 'East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery' (ECIFFF), a fishery producing shark meat for sale in our supermarkets and shark fin for export for shark fin soup, with virtually no scientific rigour to demonstrate shark populations can withstand the fishing pressure.

"Australia's Environment Minister has today given a green light to tens of thousands of sharks being caught within the Great Barrier Reef," said Tooni Mahto, Marine Campaigner for AMCS. "The Government has rubber stamped a fishery catching sharks for their meat and fins within a World Heritage Area with no idea as to whether sharks can be caught sustainably," Mahto said.

The ECIFFF operates in and around Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Australian Environment Minister Tony Burke today re-approved the fishery as a 'Wildlife Trade Operation' (WTO). The fishery has a 600t annual quota for sharks (which equates to a catch of approximately 100,000 sharks). The fishery catches around 20 species of shark without stock assessments and without an understanding of the impact of the fishery on the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. The catch includes species listed as threatened with extinction by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), such as scalloped hammerhead shark.

"Despite deep concerns of the Australian public about this shark fishery, the government continues to allow fisheries management by guesswork. The refusal to impose strong regulation on the amount of sharks caught is inexplicable," said Miss Mahto.

The timing of the announcement comes on the eve of the arrival of a UNESCO World Heritage Centre 'mission' to assess the status of the GBR, which arrives just next week (5th March).

"Sharks are apex predators, crucial in helping to maintain the health of the Great Barrier Reef. It is an embarrassment that the visit by UNESCO inspectors is greeted with a 'business as usual' approach to permitting damaging fishing within the World Heritage Area."