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While the definition may vary by location, Shark Sanctuaries are specified areas of shark habitat that enjoy legal protection to prohibit shark fishing. Shark Savers, other shark conservation organizations, tourism and dive companies and associations, together with forward-thinking governments, are increasingly seeing Shark Sanctuaries as one of the best ways to protect the sharks we have left.
There are not many true Shark Sanctuaries at this time. The famous ones are relatively new: Palau and The Maldives. Honduras recently declared a moratorium on shark fishing and is poised to enter the family of Shark Sanctuaries. There are several significant Marine Protected Areas including Cocos and Galapagos that were not specifically created to protect sharks, but do harbor significant shark populations. Of the Shark Sanctuaries and important shark MPAs that exist, the shark fishing prohibition is not fully enforced, primarily due to lack of resources. The inconsistent level of enforcement in Cocos and Galapagos are of particular concern. There are other areas with important shark habitat that are not protected and need to be. Shark Savers' Shark Sanctuary Program has as its goal the creation of new Shark Sanctuaries, including development of financial models to provide sustainable funding for Shark Sanctuary law enforcement. This program is in an early stage, although we are making good progress with our program to establish a Shark Sanctuary in Raja Ampat. This page is a starting point that will be developed over time. Today, it serves as an aggregation of petitions that we urge you to sign for the creation of Shark Sanctuaries. Create a Shark Sanctuary in the BahamasIn the Bahamas, sharks bring in tens of millions of dollars each year through ecotourism and are treasured members of the ecosystem. Yet even in this tropical paradise, shark populations are depleting at an alarming rate from overfishing bycatch and shark-finning.Two Bahamians, dive master Cristina Zenato and conservationist Pedro Baranda, have joined forces with local Bahamian and international environmental groups including The Bahamas Humane Society, The Bahamas National Trust, EARTHCARE, Friends of the Environment, The Nature Conservancy, Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF), reEarth and the Pew Environment Group to support shark conservation in the Bahamas. Tell Bahamian authorities to enforce permanent protection for the sharks of the Bahamas before it's too late. Sign the petition to create a Shark Sanctuary in the Bahamas today. Create a Shark Sanctuary in Raja Ampat, IndonesiaRaja Ampat, in Eastern Indonesia, is the crown jewel of the Coral Triangle that boasts the greatest concentration of coral and fish species on earth. In May 2007, the Raja Ampat government declared seven Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to protect these important ecosystems, together with the effort of The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, and WWF Indonesia.Nevertheless, shark fishing and finning continues unabated in the vast majority of Raja Ampat’s waters that are beyond the protection of the No-Take Zones. It is now very rare to see a shark in Raja Ampat outside of a No-Take-Zone. Shark fishermen, having fished out the mature sharks in the area, are now moving against the last very young sharks they can find, even though their fins are small and only fetch about 35 cents each. Now, as even these catches have diminished, fishermen are shifting their sights to manta rays and mobula rays. Sign the petition to create a Shark Sanctuary in Raja Ampat today. Comments (1)
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