[Coral-List] Overfishing of blue and silky sharks to the detriment of Palau coral reefs?

David McGuire david at trilliumfilms.net
Tue Oct 16 14:51:55 EDT 2007


Our film Sharks: Stewards of the Reef also examines finning and the  
removal of threats to coral reefs systems, as discussed by Dr Enric  
Sala of SIO, and featured in his 2005 PNAS article with Bascompte et  
al.  This subject specifically examines the reef shark coral reef  
interaction.
While this documentary lacks the drama and entertainment of  
Sharkwater, it is based on science and examines overfishing and  
marine management.

The trailer is on www.sharkstewards.com.

This thread is very interesting to me, but Im going to have to sign  
off for the next 3 months.  I'll be working on a film in Cocos,  
Galapagos, easter Island and Chile, and hope to have some footage and  
develop a short on the overfishing of sharks.

regards

David McGuire


On Oct 10, 2007, at 7:54 AM, Steve LeGore wrote:

> My wife and I attended a pre-release screening of a film titled  
> "Sharkwater" just last evening.  The film is due for national  
> release in early November, and I recommend it to anyone interested  
> in this issue.  While it includes a scene or two that I have  
> questions about, the film is overall informative and very  
> enlightening about the scale and scope of the shark finning  
> fishery.  I thought I was aware, but some of the graphics widened  
> my eyes.  The film is professionally produced with dramatic and  
> beautiful imagery -- other than the finning fishery images, of  
> course --  and has been awarded 21 international documentary film  
> awards.  You may preview it at http://sharkwater.com.
>
> And no, I have no connection with the makers or anyone marketing  
> this film.  I am merely recommending that professionals interested  
> in this issue should take the opportunity to see it when they can.
>
> Steve LeGore
>
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: "Tupper, Mark (WorldFish)" <M.Tupper at CGIAR.ORG>
>> Sent: Oct 10, 2007 1:57 AM
>> To: Crawdaddy Hale <crawdaddyhale at hotmail.com>, coral- 
>> list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Overfishing of blue and silky sharks to  
>> the	detriment of Palau coral reefs?
>>
>> Dear Christopher,
>>
>> I am the former Senior Scientist at the Palau International Coral  
>> Reef
>> Center and I have spent about 5 years researching coral reef fish and
>> fisheries in Palau, before moving to the WorldFish Center in  
>> Malaysia.
>>
>> I seriously doubt you will find any data or information relating
>> fisheries for pelagic sharks to coral reef health, because I suspect
>> such data do not exist. My guess would be that pelagic sharks like  
>> blue
>> and silky sharks spend the great majority of their time in open water
>> and do not contribute significantly to the trophic structure of  
>> Palau's
>> coral reef ecosystems. Thus their removal would likely have little
>> effect on coral reef health. What you should look into more  
>> closely is
>> the effect of removing these apex pelagic predators on Palau's  
>> pelagic
>> fisheries, which target yellowfin tuna, wahoo, mahi, and various  
>> other
>> scombrids to supply the restaurants with fresh sashimi and sushi.
>> Unfortunately, I doubt many data exist on this subject either.
>>
>> Having said that, I seem to recall that Palau's finning laws were
>> implemented after a particularly nasty case where a Taiwanese boat  
>> was
>> discovered with the fins of something like 3000 sharks on board. I  
>> had
>> heard (but cannot confirm) that among these sharks were reef- 
>> associated
>> species such as gray reef sharks, great hammerhead sharks, and tiger
>> sharks. That information should be documented somewhere. If correct,
>> that means the boat must have come well inside the 24 mile zone,  
>> right
>> up to the barrier reef area. This in my mind is the greatest  
>> danger in
>> allowing shark finning anywhere - that a boat may simply sneak in  
>> close
>> to shore at night and take nearshore shark species off the reefs.  
>> This
>> could very well have a large impact on both the coral reef  
>> ecosystem and
>> the dive tourism industry. I believe it this issue of compliance that
>> you should focus on in Palau. If you can convince the Judiciary of  
>> the
>> danger in giving shark finners the opportunity to illegally target
>> reef-associated sharks (by applying only token "slap on the wrist  
>> fines"
>> as opposed to vessel seizure and jail terms), then perhaps you can  
>> make
>> some progress.
>>
>> Best of luck,
>>
>> Mark
>>
>>
>>
>> Dr. Mark Tupper
>> Scientist - Coral Reefs
>> The WorldFish Center
>> PO Box 500 GPO, 10670 Penang, Malaysia
>> Tel (+6-04) 626-1606; Fax (+6-04) 626-5530
>> _______________________________________________
>> Coral-List mailing list
>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
> Steve LeGore, Ph.D.
> LeGore Environmental Associates, Inc.
> 2804 Gulf Drive N.
> Holmes Beach, Florida 34217 USA
> Executive Director,
> Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean
> Tel: 941/778-4650
> Fax: 941/778-4650
> Cell: 941/447-8010
> E-mail: slegore at mindspring.com
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list

David McGuire
david at trilliumfilms.net
Producer, trillium films
323 Pine St Suite C
Sausalito CA 94965

415 289.0366
415 289.0399 Fax
www.trilliumfilms.net
www.sharkstewards.com

Please take a moment to learn about the growing global problem of  
Shark Finning and how you can Help Stop the Distribution of Shark  
Fins for Shark Fin Soup:

www.sharkstewards.com/synopsis.htm

http://sharkstewards.com/take-action.htm

Establish a Global Ban on Shark Finning  http:// 
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/345265363





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