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As shark populations around the world plummet due to overfishing, there is an urgent, global, need to develop a framework for designing MPAs that will meet with success. At present, many MPAs underperform because they lack sufficient size to support the movement of sharks, have fishing regulations that are either not well enforced or don’t sufficiently moderate fishing, lack scientific monitoring, and are subject to government funding priorities. The Parks for Sharks project will create shark MPAs that not only succeed in protecting sharks, but also can become financially self-supporting and educationally nourish its supporters.
The Parks for Sharks model combines foundational criteria: adequate MPA size, tiered fishing zones that include no-take zones and prohibit the use of longlines and gillnets elsewhere, on-site enforcement, and tracking of populations. To that, it adds additional criteria aimed at achieving self-sufficiency: creation of an international community of supporters, and educational and awareness programs that connect people to the sharks and their Parks.
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The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, previously known as the Pew Institute for Ocean Science, has been conducting long-term research into shark populations in the Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve (GRMR) in Belize and also in Bimini, Bahamas. The research confirms the existence of healthy shark populations at Glover’s Reef, and further identifies the conditions under which these stable populations can be maintained. This research includes tagging of sharks, population and DNA assessment, and other behavioral analysis. The scientific background described in the following section provides detail to the background of the project as a whole. |
Shark Savers is an organization that creates awareness, educational programs, and grass-roots activities to advocate for sharks. The Institute’s Executive Director, Dr. Ellen Pikitch, recently joined the Advisory Board of Shark Savers. As the relationship between the two organizations developed, we began to recognize an opportunity to take the Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve and the research conducted there to a new level in order to develop a more complete model for successful shark conservation. This model would not only save more sharks, but also enable individuals from around the world to participate in and support this ‘Park for Sharks’. Once successfully implemented at Glover’s Reef, we would apply the model to create new Parks.
The objectives of this program are:
- Extend and evolve the Institute’s Glover’s Reef Shark Survey: Survey data provides the understanding and verification necessary to recognize and define the conditions for successful shark conservation in MPAs. We want to ‘upgrade’ the survey by obtaining data on individual sharks over its entire lifespan and more fully determine the multi-generational relationship between shark and reef habitat. We also need to provide assessments in other geography to identify additional candidates for Parks for Sharks.
- Increase self-sustainability of shark MPA’s by connecting the Parks for Sharks with a global, public community of supporters. Currently, not many people know about Glover’s Reef outside of the academic community interested in the research conducted by the Institute. For Glover’s Reef and future Parks for Sharks to become financially self-sustaining, there needs to be broader engagement and interest from the public. We want to enable the Parks for Sharks to be a source of education and wonder to people and to enable supporters to take an active interest in the continued conservation of sharks.
- Develop the Parks for Sharks model for application to other MPAs. We believe we have identified many of the characteristics for a successful, stable shark population and conservation program at Glover’s Reef. These include a resident shark population, a sufficiently large area, vigilant protection, ability for local population to fish without overfishing, and scientific monitoring. The Parks for Sharks model seeks to add to the currently existing conditions the dimension of public engagement and support to ensure future sustainability. We seek to complete the Parks for Sharks model at Glover’s Reef by adding this public dimension, and then define it as a recipe that can be applied to other MPAs. We have already identified other areas in the Caribbean that are good candidates to become viable Parks for Sharks, and want to take this model worldwide.
Status: We have conducted planning, have developed proposals, and are seeking funding for the project. |
