Course:CONS200/2024WT1/Shark conservation (riverine and marine) in the Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf is a very rich marine ecosystem where the marine biodiversity and resources offer important ecosystem service, including food, security an economic assistance to the people living within the region. As an apex predator and keystone species, shark's play a very important role in the balance and preservation of the Persian gulf's biodiversity. Extinction of shark's from the Persian Gulf could set off trophic cascades, resulting in unanticipated and permanently changing the biodiversity and species composition in unpredictable ways. Shark's in the Persian Gulf are currently facing many threats from overfishing to habitat degradation to climate change and biodiversity loss. Despite their importance, shark's in the Persian Gulf have received little conservation efforts due to three reasons in particular: limited available baseline scientific data, challenges with balancing conservation efforts and coastal livelihoods, and complexity of coordinating conservation initiatives across the eight surrounding nations bordering the Gulf.

Major Threats to Shark's in the Persian Gulf

The spot-tail shark, Carcharhinus sorrah, is a near-threatened species commonly caught in the Persian Gulf.

Shark's are keystone species that are vital top and mesopredators in marine ecosystems, but because of species-threatening impacts in the Persian Gulf, it has been observed that elasmobranch populations (rays and shark's) have exponentially declined due to the continual effects of over fishing, contamination, and economic demand. Especially in surrounding countries such as Iran and the United Arab Emirates, the fin trade is a substantial driver of the country’s economy and is relied on heavily for food security, income, and heritage. Enormous values are imposed on shark's in this region, as their meat, oil, fins, cartilage, skin, and jaws are especially in demand. According to the QECI, Iran has been classified among the 26 top chondrichthyan-fishing nations, being responsible for over 80% of the total global chondrichthyan catches. This raises a huge threat to shark species in the Persian Gulf, as the irresponsible and unethical over exploitation of shark's is rapidly declining populations and biodiversity within the marine ecosystem.  

In addition to the over fishing of shark's in the Persian Gulf, metal contamination is an increasing threat to their health. As populations and industrialization rise on the coasts of gulf countries, metal contaminants from industrial surface runoff in Iran and Iraq commonly flow into the Gulf directly or through rivers. In particular, the largest contamination source into the Persian Gulf is through the Shatt Al-Arab River system, combining waters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers of Iraq and the Karun River of Iran. Not only is such metal bio accumulation in shark's concerning for humans who consume it, but it inflicts damage to the species’ health. For example, the accumulation of lead in the gills, rectal gland, liver, and muscle of shark's affect their respiratory capacity and metabolism. Therefore it is the combined pressures of over fishing and contamination that is causing a decline in shark species populations in the Persian Gulf, and the health and overall balance of the marine ecosystem.

Conservation efforts

Legislation of Surrounding Countries

Map of the Persian Gulf and surrounding countries

Regulation regarding shark fishing varies between the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf and highlights the need for regional cooperation.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The UAE has taken measures to regulate the fishing and trading of shark's in recent years. Most notably in 2011 with Ministerial Resolution No.216 on the organizing measures for capturing of shark's in which it prohibits capture of wales shark's and capture of shark's for their fins. By banning shark finning, the practice of cutting off sharks' fins, and throwing their bodies back into the sea, the UAE is able to limit the amount of shark's killed as whole shark's take up much more space on a boat than just their fins. In 2019 the UAE released The Ministerial Resolution No. 43 which, in addition to the seasonal ban, it imposes a permanent ban on fishing shark and ray species listed in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), CMS (Convention on Migratory Species), and the Federal Law No. 23 of 1999 concerning the exploitation, protection, and development of living aquatic resources in the UAE and its amendments. In total the fishing of 59 shark and ray species was permanently banned, any catch of the species must be released back into the sea or handed to local authorities

Saudi Arabia

In 2008, a royal decree prohibiting all shark-fishing activities was enacted by the Ministry of Agriculture in an effort to protect Saudi Arabian fisheries resources. In addition, details on penalties for violations to the law, however, are not specified and enforcement strategies appear to be virtually non-existent.

Iran

Shark fishing is illegal in Iran and carries a fine of 300,000,000 IRR (10,086 CAD) per shark. However, this fine is rarely enforced and many illegal shark catches are not punished .

Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

NGOs play a pivotal role in shark conservation efforts in the Persian Gulf. One such NGO is Qeshm Environmental Conservation Institute (QECI) founded by Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour. Based in the Persian Gulf, QECI's mission is to protect the Persian Gulf's biodiversity and its inhabitants through conducting research, developing science-based solutions, education and raising awareness, as well as taking direct actions. In 2016 the QECI partnered with the Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute and the Elasmo Project, to conduct a research project to overcome the problem of limited conservation plans and management measures to protect shark and ray stocks in Iran due to no available baselines. The QECI states its next steps are to hold educational and consulting programs for fishing communities and also test some by-catch mitigation measures, especially for trawlers.

Challenges and Future Direction

Globally, the protection of shark's have been limited due to almost no available scientific data and the growing populations . Results emphasise the need for research on life history traits of the various species in order to determine their regional conservation status, but also reveal that a precautionary approach to conservation will be necessary to mitigate anthropocentric impacts. Even though solutions such as having marine protected areas and shark sanctuaries, benefit both mobile and resident shark's,  their effectiveness depends on reducing overall fishing mortality, as other fishing is still permitted and shark's can be caught as by-catch. To advance conservation efforts, technical innovation will be required, such as the use of real-time satellite monitoring and acoustic tagging to offer important data on shark migrations and habitats, allowing for better MPA design and enforcement. By-catch mitigation technologies like modified nets and fishing gear show potential for reducing accidental shark captures.

In the future more plans like the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animal (CMS) should be made to create stronger regulations and regional collaboration all over the world The five main objectives of the conservation plan under the CMS is improving the understanding of migratory shark populations through research, monitoring and information exchange. They mandate about 38 shark species and have demanded for fishers to release them in a manner that causes the least possible harm.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the survival of shark population in the Persian Gulf is important to maintain the marine's ecosystem's health and diversity. As apex predators and keystone species, shark's perform a vital role in minimising trophic cascades that might disturb the Gulf's ecological balance. However, these species are under significant threat from over fishing, habitat destruction, and pollution. Shark's are being exploited at unsustainable levels, driven by commercial demand, particularly for the fin trade. Resulting in fast population decreases, which leads to a threat in the Gulf's ecological equilibrium. Due to the difficulty of organising programs across several countries, the need to strike a balance between conservation with the livelihoods of coastal communities, and the absence of baseline data, shark conservation efforts have been restricted.

Moving forward, greater collaboration actions by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Qeshm Environmental Conservation Institute (QECI) and among Gulf nations will be critical in developing data-driven and sustainable shark population protection policies. QECI's efforts in research, outreach, and by-catch mitigation demonstrate that practical, science-based solutions are possible. To truly make an impact, tougher enforcement of existing regulation and projects like marine protected areas and shark sanctuaries must be prioritised. There is hope for a balanced approach that protects shark populations while still sustaining coastal communities' livelihoods. Only by making such dedicated efforts can we guarantee that the marine biodiversity of the Persian Gulf and the shark species will continue to be strong and alive for decades to come.