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Basking Shark Swims on to List of Endangered Species

Posted on: Saturday, 26 November 2005, 09:00 CST

By Eben Harrell

A SHARK that summers in Scottish waters is to be given international protection due to fears that it is on the brink of extinction.

The basking shark can be found in warm seas off the coasts of 48 countries. In the UK, the shark traditionally spends the summer in Gulf Stream waters near Cornwall, but global warming has led to an increase in sightings off Scotland's west coast.

Delegates from the 95 signatories to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) agreed at a conference in Kenya this week to add the fish to a list of endangered species that require international protection.

The basking shark was added to a "red list" of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 1996. But as the shark is migratory, it requires protection by multiple governments, which it received yesterday.

Delegates agreed to meet again to hammer out the details of protection schemes.

Susan Lieberman of WWF International said: "This initial agreement is very significant. We look forward to the governments of the world collaborating for the benefit of the conservation of migratory sharks."

Basking sharks can reach lengths of 11 metres and weigh up to seven tonnes. They are plankton feeders, and can be spotted on the ocean surface with their mouths agape.

Females have a long gestation period and give birth to few young, making the population unstable when stocks are depleted. The fish has been protected in UK waters since 1998, but they are vulnerable to accidental catches, beachings, entanglements and collisions, wildlife experts said. They are also still hunted illegally in many countries.

The attempt to add the species to the list was spearheaded by delegates from the UK and Australia.

UK biodiversity minister Jim Knight said: "We are incredibly lucky to have the basking shark as a regular visitor to our shores and it is appalling that an unsustainable demand for its meat and fins could be a real threat to its future.

"The basking shark is an amazing creature and I am determined that we do everything in our power to protect it."

The basking shark was one of 11 species to be added to the convention's protection list, which now includes 118 species.

The Basra reed warbler, a small brown and white bird which breeds in the Meso-potamian marshlands of southern Iraq, thought to be the original Garden of Eden, is also on the list.

Experts say the warbler's numbers have dwindled because of heavy drainage of the marshlands under Saddam Hussein's rule, part of Saddam's systematic harrassment of the Marsh Arabs, who inhabited the area.

Another species to be given special status is the Bukhara deer, which inhabits central Asia's arid zones, migrating across large distances. It is now threatened by habitat destruction and also possibly by pesticide contamination.

Other species which made the endangered listing are the Balearic shearwater, Henderson's petrel, Malagasy pond heron, red knot, spotted ground thrush and short-beaked common dolphin.

Species newly gaining international protection

Red Knot - a medium-sized shorebird which breeds on islands in the Arctic regions of Canada and winters along both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Also found in Europe and Asia.

Basra Reed Warbler - small brown bird, breeds in southern Iraq.

Bukhara Deer - central Asia's only true deer, it migrates across Tajikistan and Uzbekistan where it is threatened by habitat destruction and pollution. Only 800 to 900 survive.

Henderson's Petrel - a dwindling population preyed on by rats on the tiny, uninhabited Henderson Island in the South Pacific. Rat threat now being addressed.

Malagasy Pond Heron - found in southern Africa, rare elsewhere on the continent.

Balearic Shearwater - breeds on cliffs in the Balearic islands in the Mediterranean.

Spotted Ground Thrush - its woodland habitat in East Africa is being destroyed.

Short-Beaked Common Dolphin - thousands still being caught in tuna nets, with other dolphin species, in the eastern tropical Pacific, though its plight may be improving.

Madacascar Squacco Heron - in decline as wetlands disappear.

Atlantic Sturgeon - migrating fish that has been exploited for caviar for many years.

Source: Scotsman, The

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