New training for shark identification New training for shark identification
- Details
- Published on Monday, 19 December 2011 22:19
- Written by Super User
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Overfishing has reduced shark populations by 30% and they are on their way to extinction. Of the 307 species of shark evaluated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 50 show some degree of threat and only three are protected by international agreements. | © MarViva / Giovanni MELO |
Bogotá, Colombia.- The MarViva Fundación, in partnership with the Malpelo Foundation and other marine ecosystems, held two training workshops for fishery information collectors with whom they have been working for more than a year on fisheries monitoring of the northern coast of the Colombian Pacific.
Held in the municipalities of Bahía Solano and Nuquí, the workshops are part of the commitments and activities to support community councils in the area and the consolidation of a fisheries management process for the sustainable use of marine resources. The Councils are ethnic territorial authorities that exercise greater leadership over their communities for the conservation and sustainable use of resources.
The activity was attended by the higher community councils of Nuquí, Juradó and Bahía Solano, the Frío Network, Corporation Colombia International (CCI), the Colombian Institute for Rural Development and National Nature Parks. The training event had the active participation of the information collectors for the so-called Artisanal Fishing Exclusive Zone (ZEPA in Spanish), who have been part of the process since 2011.
Today, sharks are threatened by factors such as overfishing, targeted capture, bycatch, “finning”, a lack of research and legislation, as well as a lack of fisheries control activities and the destruction of their habitats. According to some figures, if sharks disappear, food production for humans and activities such as commercial fishing, medical research and tourism will be seriously affected.
Recent figures also show that populations of these species have been reduced by 30% and practices such as finning are putting them on the path to extinction. Of the 307 shark species evaluated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 50 show some degree of threat and only three are protected by international agreements.
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Those attending the event, the fishery information collectors from the community councils of Nuquí, Bahía Solano, Cupica and Juradó, received certificates of participation for their effective contributions to training in technical skills and their training as community leaders in the region. | © MarViva / Giovanni MELO |
With these training and awareness-raising actions for the population, MarViva will be improving information for the local team that is gathering data for the Participatory Fisheries Monitoring, with support from Institute for Marine and Coastal Research (INCODER), INVEMAR, National Nature Parks, Natural Heritage and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Those attending the event received a certificate of participation as proof of their progress in gaining technical skills toward their training as community leaders for the region.
