WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014The Association of Pacific Island Legislatures issued a resolution last week stressing the need for additional actions to protect sharks.<\/p>\n
The resolution, reached at APIL\u2019s general assembly conference in Palau, states that the association agrees with \u201cprotective legislation in Palau, Hawaii, CNMI, and Guam.\u201d<\/p>\n
The approved language asks \u201call member legislative assemblies of APIL to adopt similar legislation for a unified regional ban prohibiting the possession, selling, offering for sale, trading or distribution of shark fins, rays, and ray parts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPacific islanders are again taking the global lead in initiatives to safeguard sharks from overfishing,\u201d said Matt Rand, director of Global Shark Conservation for the Pew Environment Group. \u201cThe decision reached in Palau, home of the first Pacific shark sanctuary, underscores the growing momentum for conserving these animals across the region and sends another signal to the rest of the world that more needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trade in shark fins has been banned by APIL members from Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Marianas, and it has been suspended by the Marshall Islands.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shark fin ban in the CNMI was the most important legislation I introduced in my 20-year career as a public servant,\u201d said Rep. Diego T. Benavente, the Commonwealth\u2019s former House speaker and lieutenant governor. \u201cIt is imperative that this movement to protect sharks spread from island to island, nation to nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharks, which grow slowly, mature late, and produce few young during their lifetimes, have difficulty recovering from overfishing and depletion. These apex predators, living at the top of the food web, are key to maintaining the health of ocean ecosystems. Yet up to 73 million are killed every year, primarily for their fins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applaud all members of APIL for responding to the plight of the region\u2019s sharks,\u201d Rand said. \u201cWe support their efforts and hope that their leadership continues to inspire other coastal nations to protect these important animals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The member states of APIL are the Northern Marianas, Guam, Palau, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, American Samoa, Nauru, and Hawaii. The exclusive economic zones of all APIL member nations total an area larger than the land masses of the continental United States and European Union countries combined.[I] (Pew Environment Group)[\/I]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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