Conservation usually begins with identifying an issue, which is followed by data gathering, research, and analysis; then policy design and advocacy; policy implementation; and policy evaluation. Often policy evaluation identifies additional issues that need to be addressed, and leads to further research and analysis, which restarts the process.
However, in practice all parts of the process interact with each other in a non-liner way. This makes conservation work a system of simultaneous, cyclical, and interacting actions, that often adapt to new challenges while ensuring the past conservation wins are upheld.
Sharks Pacific is working at sea and with locals to collect data on shark migration and reduce mortality of threatened sharks and rays, especially for migratory species. These efforts help establish baseline data sets for evaluating the efficacy of shark and ray protection measures established by the Rarotonga-based Pacific Island Initiative.
Simultaneously, Sharks Pacific is advocating for improved fishing practices to enable shark and ray conservation, including prohibition of wire trace on board vessels, transitioning to circle hooks, and strengthening requirements in CMM 2024-05 to ensure shark fining does not occur in the Western Central Pacific. To complement these efforts, Sharks Pacific also advocates for heavy reforms for at-sea transshipment to ensure bycatch transparency and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Through these simultaneous efforts, Sharks Pacific conservation work becomes a constant—ensuring an enduring spotlight on the protection of keystone species and achieving wins for sharks and rays in the Pacific.
