Sharks and stingrays are NOT the first species that come to mind when you think of protection or conservation. Besides, you probably figure that those sea creatures can protect themselves...and the fewer sharks there are preying on fish and terrorizing swimmers in the waters, the better, right?
Wrong. Conservationists say that in fact sharks and sting rays have a central role in the marine life. Today at a workshop at the Biltmore, Courtney Weatherburne found out just how special these much misunderstood species are in Belize.
Courtney Weatherburne reporting
Sharks are one of the most feared animals on the planet. But apart from roaming and hunting prey in the depths of the sea, sharks play a very important role in harmonizing the marine ecosystem.
Demian Chapman, Associate Professor, Researcher, Florida International University
"Sharks fulfill a role as top predator and if you remove top predators often times it causes the ecosystem to become unbalanced and you get all sorts of crazy changes."
And that is why shark conservation is crucial. Even more so now as the population is under major threat.
Globally about 100 million sharks are killed by humans per year. In Belize, it's a few thousand per year. These figures are troubling and the Belize Fisheries Department along with its partners hope to better manage sharks through legislation.
Hon. Omar Figueroa, Minister of State Agriculture. Fisheries, Forestry, Environment, & Sustainable Tourism
"Belize is a country that we all would agree that is blessed with a wealth of natural resources. Historically we have taken a lot of these resources for granted because they are so abundant out there."
"We need to put systems and structures in place to help protect these particular species like sharks that are targeted so that is why the government and the Ministry is moving in this direction to render some protection to these species."
These protection efforts don't only focus on sharks.
Sting rays, which are cousins to sharks, are also under threat but Belize has made a significant step forward in guarding them.
Demian Chapman
"Belize should be congratulated for protecting all species of Rays. This actually makes it the first country in the world that has specifically gone out and said we are going to protect all species of ray, making it sort of a Ray Sanctuary."
For the next 3 days, fisheries personnel and conservationists will be evaluating Belize's efforts in managing and conserving sharks and rays but more importantly, the focus is on developing an effective conservation plan.
Hon. Omar Figueroa
"That is why this workshop becomes extremely important we need to understand that at one point harvesting becomes unsustainable, maybe putting season on these sharks, different ways that we can better manage these species and give them additional protection."
When it comes to sharks, as scary and menacing as they may seem, they are so often misunderstood - beyond their powerful jaws and sinister presence, they are mostly docile creatures - who, in this case should be more afraid of humans than we are of them.
The main topics to be discussed in the 3 day workshop include the management of hammerhead sharks, silky sharks and thresher sharks. These species are internationally protected and Belize has an obligation to do so too. From there on, other topics will be addressed as it relates to a conservation plan for other shark species and stingrays. A report will be devised after the workshop on Friday.
On an interesting note, and one that will be looked at during the workshop is that the Bahamas have not commercially fished sharks for 20 to 30 years and they have a thriving shark tourism industry that generates 100 million US dollars a year.
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