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Politics & The Nation
EZ SU
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2010
Atlantic Ocean sharks get newprotections Similar safeguards
for bluefin tuna rejected at global conference
BY JULIET EILPERIN International delegates Satur-
day adopted new protections for seven species of shark in the Atlantic Ocean but rejected re- strictions for bluefin tuna and swordfish, leaving the future of some of the world’s most imper- iled marine predators uncer- tain. On the last day of voting at the
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tu- nas, the group agreed to ban the fishing and sale of oceanicwhite- tip sharks and six types of ham- merheads: great, scalloped, scoophead, smalleye, smooth and whitefin. The fins from both of these shark species are used to make the Asian delicacy shark’s- fin soup. Populations of oceanic white-
tip shark have declined 99 per- cent in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean, while ham- merheads’ numbers have dropped 99 percent in the Medi- terranean. While putting a ban on fishing
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for some sharks, the representa- tives declined to significantly cut back on the catch of eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna off Europe or shut down the tuna’s spawn- ing grounds in theGulf ofMexico and Mediterranean. Scientists warn that the species is now in danger of becoming commercial- ly extinct because it is so highly valued in Japan and other na- tions for its buttery flesh. They reduced the tuna’s 2011
fishing quota in the eastern At- lantic, close to Europe, by just 4
percent, to 12,900 metric tons, and in the western Atlantic, they cut it from 1,800 to 1,750 metric tons for next year. Michael Hirshfield, chief sci-
entist for the advocacy group Oceana, said that the nearly two-week-long meeting in Paris produced a few environmental victories, “but it’s three years late and three dollars short.” “Considering the status of the
species that they’re supposed to be conserving, they’re still no- where,” Hirshfield said in a phone interview fromParis. Matt Rand, who directs global
shark conservation for theWash- ington-based Pew Environment Group, said in a phone interview from Paris the decisions show that policymakers are respond- ing to the criticismthey received this spring after the Convention on International Trade in Endan- gered Species ofWild Fauna and Flora failed to adopt a single measure restricting the global trade of species such as oceanic whitetip and various types of hammerhead. Rand said the votes demon-
strate “fisheries managers around the world are paying attention to shark issues,” al- though he added that it still means only a tiny fraction of the sharks that swim in the Atlantic now are protected from fishing vessels. “It’s a good step forward but
far short of what is needed to save the world’s sharks,” Rand said. While some sharks are hunted
for their fins, others are caught for their meat or, most common- ly, are killed as “bycatch” by fishermen going after tuna and swordfish. Elizabeth Griffin Wilson, ma-
rine scientist and fisheries cam- paign manager at the advocacy
group Oceana, noted that last year ICCAT prohibited only the fishing, retention and sale of a single shark species, big-eye thresher. In addition to approving the
new restrictions, delegates ad- opted a measure penalizing any member country that does not submit data on its catch of short- fin mako sharks by 2013. Those nations will be prohibited in the future from fishing shortfin ma- kos, which are second only to blue sharks in terms of the total number caught in the Atlantic. The delegates also included
some small exceptions in the restrictions they adopted. The catch of bonnethead sharks, a type of hammerhead, will still be allowed in the Atlantic, as will fishing by coastal communities for hammerhead sharks intend- ed for eating. Countries from across the ide-
ological spectrum backed differ- ent shark-specific measures. The United States offered the propos- al on shortfin makos, while the European Union and Brazil joined forces to push for limits on hammerheads. Japan, which has often resisted limits on shark fishing, offered the ban on catch- ing oceanic whitetips. Some countries managed to
defeat additional shark protec- tions at the request of commer- cial interests. Canada, which has a targeted porbeagle shark fish- ery, helped block an E.U. propos- al to ban the catch of that species, which has declined bymore than 50 percent in much of the Atlan- tic. Japan, South Korea and Chi- na all opposed specific catch limits on shortfin makos. Mean- while, a U.S. proposal to prohibit the removal of shark fins at sea— aimed at curtailing fishing for the shark-fin market — failed after Japan objected.
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Boyfriend charged in slaying of student A 20-year-old Pennsylvania
college studentwho vanished last week while on Thanksgiving break in her hometown in subur- ban Syracuse, N.Y., was killed by her on-again, off-again boy- friend, a prosecutor said Satur- day. Onondaga County District At-
torney William Fitzpatrick said 21-year-old Steven Pieper of Liv- erpool, N.Y., was arrested on a charge of murder in the death of Jenni-LynWatson, a junior dance major at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa. The arrest came hours after
searchers combing through woods for any sign of Watson found the body of a woman thought to be the missing stu- dent behind a storage shed in a swampy area of Clay Central Park. Fitzpatrick said Pieper was
YEAR-END INVENTORY REDUCTION
ANNUAL
upset when Watson tried to end their relationship in October. He said investigators think Pieper killed Watson at her parents’ house Nov. 19, and her body was “dumped, frankly, like garbage,” in the park. “We donot believe she left that
house alive,” Fitzpatrick said. —Associated Press
CALIFORNIA
Oakland to issue city ID/ATM cards Oakland is moving forward
with plans for amunicipal identi- fication card that is being touted as the first in the nation that would double as a full-fledged debit card. The Oakland City Council this
month awarded a contract to issue the
cards.The goal is tohelp any city residents, including ille- gal immigrants, who might have difficulty obtaining a state-issued ID.
Cardholders would also be
able to load money onto their cards and use them wherever ATMcards arewelcome.Oakland officials say that would allow people without bank accounts to avoid high check-cashing fees or the need to walk around with large amounts of cash. San Francisco andWashington
are among the other cities that offer municipal identification cards, although neither includes a full debit option. —Associated Press
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Home delivery is convenient. 1-800-753-POST Boston mayor released from SF
hospital: Mayor Thomas M. Menino was released Saturday from a Boston hospital where he had been treated for a bacterial infection in his elbow. The 67- year-old mayor was released fromBrighamandWomen’sHos- pital and will continue to receive antibiotics at home as he recov- ers. Doctors think that Menino developed the infection after
MARK GAIL/THE WASHINGTON POST
Aday after getting 12 stitches to close a lip wound received when he was elbowed while playing basketball at FortMcNair, President Obama takes a break with daughter Sasha during halftime at a NCAAdivision game atHowardUniversity’s Burr Gymnasium.Howard lost to Oregon State, 84-74.
scraping his elbow during a visit last weekend to Italy.
Casino evacuated after fire:
Gambling was briefly halted and the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City evacuated early Saturday after a fire broke out on the building’s sixth floor. No injuries were reported. Officials said the fire apparently started in an outdoor planter and burned through the facade into a wall.
Willie Nelson charged with
marijuana possession: Country music legend Willie Nelson has been charged with marijuana possession after 6 ounces of the hemp plantwas found aboard his tour bus in Texas, authorities said. A U.S. Border Patrol spokes- man said the bus was searched when an officer smelledmarijua- na after it pulled into the Sierra Blanca, Texas, checkpoint about 9 a.m. Friday.
—Fromnews services TALK SHOWS Guests to be interviewed Sunday on major television talk shows:
FOX NEWS SUNDAY WTTG, 9 a.m.: Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).
STATE OF THE UNION CNN, 9 a.m.: Former president GeorgeW. Bush, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.), former governor Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) and chief officialWhite House photographer Pete Souza.
THISWEEK ABC,WJLA, 10 a.m.: Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Ted Turner.
NEWSMAKERS C-SPAN, 10 a.m.: American Action Network chief executive and former senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.).
FACE THE NATION CBS,WUSA, 10:30 a.m.: Authors Edmund Morris, “Colonel Roosevelt”; Ron Chernow, “Washington: A Life”; BobWoodward, “Obama’sWars”; and Arianna Huffington, “ThirdWorld America.”
MEET THE PRESS NBC,WRC, 10:30 a.m.: Sens. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Republican strategist Ed Gillespie.
WASHINGTONWATCH TV One, 11 a.m.: Sen. RolandW. Burris (D-Ill.) and actor-activistWendell Pierce (“TheWire,” “Treme”).
Obama officials put a more
positive spin on the meeting’s results. While Jane Lubchenco, who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion, said the United States “met with mixed success” at the ses- sion, Russell F. Smith III, deputy assistant secretary for interna- tional fisheries, said in a state- ment, “The United States suc- ceeded in protecting the gains in conservation we achieved last year while making significant progress in other areas.” Sonja Fordham, president of
Shark Advocates International, said international fisheriesman- agers need “to build upon this progress” with complementary protections elsewhere in the sea, along with stiffer measures next year. While delegates did little to
curtail the catch of bluefin tuna on either side of the Atlantic, they did vote to enforce “pay- back”measures on countries that exceed their yearly bluefin tuna fishing quotas. In the future, the catch allowed for those nations would be reduced by a commen- surate level the following year. The commission also required
that countries report on how many sea turtles they catch in the Atlantic and to use hook-removal and fishing line disentanglement gear, which could save tens of thousands of sea turtles that are accidentally caught. Scientists estimate that between 240,000 and 350,000 sea turtles are caught in longline fisheries in the Atlantic and Mediterranean each year. Delegates failed to fulfill their
pledge to establish a comprehen- sivemanagement plan for sword- fish in the Mediterranean, a population that has also declined significantly in the past 20 years.
eilperinj@washpost.com
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