Two years ago, after sustained pressure from the Shark Alliance, EU Fisheries Ministers endorsed a sound plan of action for shark conservation, but there is still unfinished business: the EU finning ban has huge loopholes, many endangered shark species remain completely unprotected, and there are no limits on the main shark species targeted by EU boats.

There are key opportunities in the coming months to deliver on the commitments of the EU Shark Action Plan so we continue to urge fisheries ministers to deliver proper protection for sharks from finning and overexploitation.

Across Europe, Shark Alliance member groups and supporters hosted shark classes, colouring competitions and swim-a-thons for children, shark dives, demonstrations and lectures. Many more of our supporters spread the message on facebook, twitter and blogs, all to encourage as many people as possible to learn about shark conservation and help Make the Push to protect Europe’s sharks by signing the petition or recording a personal message.

So far we’ve received only a fraction of the paper petition forms back but we know many tens of thousands of people from all 27 EU member states took the opportunity to sign. In addition, we have received hundreds of photos and many short videos of people taking part in shark week activities and asking their minister to Make the Push.

You can see a selection of them in our website, and you can see the full gallery on the Make the Push Flickr page.

We’d like to thank everyone who got involved in making this year’s ESW such a success!

Butt..we’re not finished yet. We’ll continue to run the petition into early 2012 when we will set a date to handover the signatures and a selection of photos and videos to all EU fisheries ministers. If you have yet to sign the petition please do so here.

There are more events being organized by our member groups so if you’re looking for something to do in the coming months check out our events calendar to find out what’s happening near you.

Member groups of the Shark Alliance, aquariums, dive groups, and other conservation organisations in at least 16 countries across the EU, including Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, will be holding events, filming messages for fisheries ministers, and gathering petition signatures to urge policy makers to resist industry pressure and make the push to protect sharks.

For five years, the Shark Alliance, EU fisheries and environment officials, and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have been discussing the need to better protect sharks. Two years ago, EU Fisheries Ministers endorsed a sound EU Shark Action Plan that led to significant strides toward conservation of these exceptionally vulnerable species. Yet, there is unfinished business:

Targeted EU shark fisheries continue without limits, many endangered species remain unprotected, and the EU ban on ‘finning’ still has huge loopholes that make it possible to fin sharks without detection or punishment.

Public pressure across Europe has made a real and positive difference in shark conservation. We already have more than 20,000 petition signatures, but we need all those concerned about the future of our sharks to help make the push to ensure loopholes in the finning ban are finally closed and ministers live up to the commitments of the EU Shark Plan of Action.

The Commission’s long-awaited proposal for strengthening the EU finning regulation is expected in the autumn and represents a critical opportunity to take the EU finning ban from lagging to leading and to positively influence finning policies around the world.

Keith Taylor MEP Makes the Push to protect Europes sharks

The EU is a leader in the global catch, consumption and trade of sharks, and every EU Member State has the duty to press for sound shark conservation policies at the EU level as well as in our national waters. We are hopeful that the public support expressed through European Shark Week will encourage decision makers to take a stand for the much needed protection of sharks from overexploitation and finning.

Please join us in Making the Push to protect Europe’s sharks by signing the petition!

Despite EU rules to protect it, an illegally caught rare porbeagle shark was auctioned at Scheveningen, in the Netherlands. The nearly three meter long shark was caught in the Southern North Sea and sold to a fishmonger from Katwijk.

Tragically, the auctioned shark was an adult female. Female porbeagles do not reach sexual maturity until their teen years and then produce just four pups on average at a time, making this species extremely vulnerable to overfishing. The endangered state of porbeagle in the North Sea means that each adult female is important for conservation.

The Northeast Atlantic porbeagle population is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. In 2010, based on scientific advice, the EU set Atlantic porbeagle fishing quotas at zero and proposed international porbeagle protections under fisheries and wildlife treaties, prompting global attention for the imperiled species.

The fisherman and the officials at the fish market however claimed they were unaware of regulations aimed at protecting one of Europe’s most endangered sharks. National enforcement is essential to effective conservation of migratory EU species. This disturbing news shows that the Netherlands has a long way to go in ensuring that fishermen understand, respect, and are held accountable to the rules.

Showing how highlighting the dangers to sharks and public pressure can have results, after our press release on this story generated sizable coverage in the Netherlands, parliamentary questions were asked and Irene has been invited to an emergency meeting with officials to discuss what needs to be done.

To sign our petition calling on all EU fisheries ministers to fulfill the commitments of the EU Community Plan of Action for Sharks, which, among other things, encourages EU Member States to provide protection for endangered shark species, go to http://www.sharkalliancepetition.org

http://www.sharkalliancepetition.org

Although European Shark Week (15 to 23 October 2011) is at least two months away, we launched our petition earlier this month to run through the summer. We will then present the results, with other outcomes of European Shark Week, when EU fisheries ministers consider the revised finning regulation.

Hard copies of the petition with a package of materials including a 2 meter high cut out board for photos, posters, leaflets, stickers and coloring sheets are being sent to over 100 aquariums across Europe this week to help educate visitors about the importance of shark conservation and encourage them to sign the petition and add their voices to those calling on EU fisheries ministers to make the push to protect sharks from finning and over-exploitation.

We hope you will all:

  - Sign the petition

  - Send a link to your networks and share on your facebook pages

  - Feature on your websites (instructions here: http://www.europeansharkweek.org/content.asp?did=37401

We’ll keep you updated on plans for European Shark Week through this blog and you can also follow our progress, get more information and find out what else you can do on http://www.europeansharkweek.org