Page 19 - Livre_MOW2018_FR

17 /

The workshop held by the Mediterranean Science The impact of climate change and the conse-
Commission (CIESM) and its guest experts du- quences should also be noted, i.e. the variation in
ring the Monaco Ocean Week 2018 had three sea levels, changes in temperature, coastal ero-
goals: to refine knowledge of shark populations sion and pollution, as they have a significant effect
and extend this field of research to large marine on the survival of species in the Mediterranean.
predators in the Black Sea, the Atlantic seaboard
between Portugal and Morocco, and particularly All information obtained and modelled should
sea birds. help draw up a better overview of knowledge
on surface and deep water and identify sensitive
The CIESM, historically headquartered in Monaco, zones and species to be protected as a priority.
recently launched a task force on sharks in the Currently, fewer than a dozen shark species are
Mediterranean. This task force brings together re- protected.
searchers from several countries aiming to record
species found in the Mediterranean waters and to
study their dynamics.
“We must have a better understanding of environmental
By comparing different studies in Turkey, Croatia, issues in the Mediterranean to responsibly guide political
Italy and the Portugal Atlantic seaboard, it be-
came clear that half of different shark species in and social decisions.
the Mediterranean - nearly 80 - are threatened, We must implement additional measures to make
and over a third are in danger.
progress in regions which we have not yet explored”
The causes are generally the same everywhere: Frédéric Briand, managing director of the CIESM
overfishing, illegal fishing and the accidents it
causes, pollution, destruction of natural fish ha-
bitats, etc.

This is why it is important to better understand
these large predators to be able to protect them.

Researchers agreed that new information is re-
quired as current data is believed to be out-of-
date: especially information about species move-
ment and migration, reproduction and feeding of
sharks. The studies carried out in different coun-
tries allowed to highlight the use of more careful
techniques to implement the tracking and gathe-
ring of the necessary data: prioritising fish DNA.
To do this, new technologies (tags, drones, un-
derwater cameras...) were combined with fishers’
empirical knowledge.
The shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus)
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED