A. Species
Scientific name: Carcharhinus falciformis
Common name(s): silky shark
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Vulnerable
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Indian Ocean - eastern
- Indian Ocean - western
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: Indian Ocean, particularly along India's south coast
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2022
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Targeted fishing harvesting/exploiting or collecting wild aquatic resources
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people, Non-local Internal, Non-local External, National / local government and International private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: CITES Non detriment findings
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: This silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) NDF for India is “positive with conditions” to enable (non-fin commodity) trade to continue in this newly-listed species while improvements are made to existing fisheries and trade management and monitoring frameworks, and while additional research activities and management measures are adopted as outlined in Section 6. NB, particularly legal and illegal trade is projected to be better controlled through legalisation of use as per NDF conditions! This NDF will be re-evaluated after 3 years, to gauge progress against the recommendations in Section 6 and update it with newly acquired data, before agreeing to a new NDF for 2023-2026.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: CITES Non detriment findings
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: implicit as considerable trade (both legal and illegal) in this species; mostly caught as by-catch and thus very little associated costs
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
- Strict implementation of each state’s Marine Fishery Regulation Act (MFRA) regarding gear, mesh size, operation in no-take zones and closed seasons - Strengthen Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) - Improve participatory management and inter-departmental coordination through fishery management councils, as developed under the FAO CCRF - Create awareness through visual, print and electronic media and mass campaigns - Seasonal closure of fishing in identified breeding/nursery grounds - Improved surveillance to check for IUU fishing by foreign vessels, and develop protocol for identifying species on board - Continue to monitor and where necessary improve compliance with existing fisheries management regulations (national, regional and international), including: * IOTC Resolution 17/05 on the Conservation of sharks caught in association with fisheries managed by IOTC, including reporting requirements * IOTC Resolution 17-08 on Fish Aggregating Devices, including the adoption of nonentangling Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) (to reduce silky shark bycatch) - Develop and implement the NPOA-Sharks for India, based on the guidance document, with a special focus on plans for shark species listed in CITES and CMS, encourage and take part in regional initiatives to develop a regional shark plan. - Support shark conservation efforts and proposals through IOTC, including: * Resolution 17/05 On the Conservation of sharks caught in association with fisheries managed by IOTC; * Resolution 17/07 On the Prohibition to use large-scale driftnets in the IOTC Area; * Resolution 17/08 Procedures on a fish aggregating devices (FADs) management plan, including a limitation on the number of FADs, more detailed specifications of catch reporting from FAD sets, and the development of improved FAD designs to reduce the incidence of entanglement of non-target species * Resolution 13/06 On a scientific and management framework on the conservation of shark species caught in association with IOTC managed fisheries - Urge Ministry of Commerce and Industry to introduce HS codes for all shark products to collect improved data on imports and exports - Develop a fisher awareness program aimed to: * improve identification of juvenile and pregnant sharks and techniques to maximize live release * improve logbook data recording. * provide an overview and increase awareness of shark biology, global status, and management measures in place both locally and internationally. - Increase awareness for shark processors, traders, and exporters regarding the fin export ban, and CITES requirements for the export of other products derived from CITES listed shark species (this includes export permits accompanied by the Legal Acquisition Finding and Non-Detriment Findings). - Sign the CMS Sharks MoU to access additional support for the management of shark bycatch.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2019-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2023-09-13