The Nature of Scotland – Autumn 2011 – Issue 13

NEWS
Greater protection for shark, skate and ray
New rules are being drafted to increase the protection of vulnerable species of
shark, skate and ray in Scotland.
A protection order for the species will go to the Scottish Parliament for
approval, which will provide further safeguards for 26 vulnerable and endangered
sharks, skates and rays, including tope, spurdog and common skate.
The proposals will extend the current provisions, which prevent the landing to
market of some of these species by commercial fishermen. This will be extended
to cover fishing by recreational sea anglers as well.
The new order will mean that only catch and release by rod and line will be
permitted, which will allow recreational sea anglers to continue to tag these
species. Tagging increases our scientific knowledge of shark, skate and ray in
Scottish waters, while ensuring that they are returned to the sea alive.
Fisheries secretary Richard Lochhead said that protecting vulnerable
marine species is crucially important. “Some shark, skate and ray populations
are critically endangered,” he commented, “and are already protected from
commercial fishing. However, these species need additional protection and so
Scotland intends to introduce a new protection order to help stock recovery.”
Ian Burrett, of the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network, praised the
efforts of volunteers in the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme. “We've shown
that anglers can fish for these endangered species in an environmentally friendly
way and make a positive contribution to the Scottish economy,” he remarked.
Shark, skate and ray species generally have slow reproductive rates, making
them highly vulnerable to overexploitation. A number of vulnerable, endangered
and critically endangered species therefore either have a zero total allowable
catch or are banned species for commercial fishermen within the European Union.
Scotland plans to introduce the protection order to include recreational sea
anglers in current conservation provisions. This will prohibit all catching, inboarding
and landing except for catch and release by rod and line of specific
shark, skate and ray species.
20 The Nature of Scotland