News Gallery

Innovative new toolkit to fill gaps in missing shark and ray data

Added to Press Releases on 10 April 2019

WWF and the Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries & Aquaculture (CSTFA) at James Cook University have developed the first toolkit of its kind that provides a variety of ways to collect scientific data on sharks and rays to help conserve and manage these species, many of which are threatened.

Plugging data gaps to bring sharks back from the brink

Added to Blogs on 10 April 2019

By Andy Cornish

It’s hard to save species if you don’t have the right information. This is particularly true for sharks, and why WWF has launched the first-ever Rapid Assessment Toolkit for Sharks and Rays to help address a major gap in efforts by WWF and others to save sharks.

Complete failure of ICCAT. EU and fishing nations leave the door open to criminal activities and illegal fishing of Atlantic tuna

Added to Press Releases on 20 November 2018

Dubrovnik, Croatia - After eight days of heated negotiations, the EU and the 50 tuna fishing nations that constitute the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) will leave Croatia without having adopted any of the much needed measures to stop the massive illegal trade in bluefin tuna and the ongoing overfishing of tropical tuna. A stronger ban on shark finning was once again blocked, putting the species in even greater jeopardy. WWF strongly condemns the irresponsible decisions of the ICCAT contracting parties which continue to allow the depletion of valuable fish resources at the benefit of private and even criminal interests.

Atlantic tuna species threatened by record levels of overfishing and alleged criminal activities: WWF urges ICCAT to deliver stringent action

Added to Updates on 12 November 2018

Dubrovnik, Croatia - A €12 million annual trade in illegal bluefin tuna recently uncovered in the Mediterranean and the dramatic overfishing of tropical tunas, pushing populations at risk of collapse, underline the need for serious action by the EU and tuna fishing nations at the ICCAT meeting in Croatia that began 12 November.

Ecuador strengthens export control abilities of sharks and their by-products

Added to Updates on 11 October 2018

WWF Ecuador recently held a training workshop on Non-detrimental Findings (NDF) for shark species included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

An appetite for responsible shark tourism

Added to Blogs on 10 August 2018

By Ian Campbell

I’ll never forget the day back in 2013 when I arrived in Fiji to take up my position with WWF’s shark conservation program. In a previous life, which now seems like a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I worked as a commercial diver where my days (and many nights) consisted of spending most of my time underwater performing such glamorous tasks as mapping sea beds, welding piers, scraping ship hulls clean and other forms of general underwater maintenance.

Encouraging a fin-free culture in Malaysia

Added to Updates on 01 July 2018

WWF-Malaysia, together with partners Association of Wedding Professionals Malaysia (AWP) and Shark Savers Malaysia (SSMY), announced their consumer engagement on shark-fin consumption reduction through the “Wedding without Fins Project.” The objective of this project is to encourage the wedding industry to be stewards and inspire wedding couples to go fin-free at their wedding ceremonies.

Critically endangered giant sawfish caught and sold by fishermen

Added to Updates on 27 June 2018

A giant 15-feet long female large-tooth sawfish, a species whose fishing is banned under Sindh government notification, was caught by fisherman on Saturday, 26 May along Sindh coast. A shrimp trawler caught the dead but large sawfish - locally known as liara, in its net.

Indian Ocean Tuna Commission must implement agreed actions to rein in overfishing

Added to Updates on 21 May 2018

In advance of the 22nd annual meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), WWF has issued a warning about the repeated failure of member states to implement the limits agreed by the Commission to halt overfishing of a number of key stocks, including yellowfin and bigeye tuna, among others. WWF understands that this matter is unlikely to be tabled for agreement at its meeting from 21-25 May in Bangkok and considers this unacceptable.

Conservation actions highlighted at Second Indonesia Shark and Ray Symposium

Added to Updates on 04 April 2018

The Second Indonesia Shark and Ray Symposium wrapped up with calls for increased research-related improvements to the nation’s waters, such as an integrated research roadmap covering improved fishery data from West Indonesia, more studies on rays, and more research on social, economic and institutional factors affecting marine wildlife populations.

EXPERT OPINION: Can the CITES process help in shark and ray conservation?

Added to Blogs on 29 March 2018

By Ian Campbell

While CITES is not the ‘silver bullet’ that will save all sharks and rays from extinction, it certainly can provide a driver to stimulate conservation efforts.

Hong Kong shark fin imports down 50%

Added to Press Releases on 08 March 2018

WWF-Hong Kong’s decade long call for the public to stop eating shark fin, and for shipping companies to stop shark fin carriage, is showing promising results. The volume of shark fin imported into Hong Kong has declined from 10,210 tonnes in 2007 to 4,979 tonnes in 2017, a drop of over 50 per cent, according to latest figures from the Census and Statistics Department.

Fiji taking leadership role in shark and ray conservation

Added to Updates on 05 March 2018

Ian Campbell, Manager of WWF’s Shark and Ray Initiative, Sharks: Restoring the Balance, WWF-Pacific, appeared on live TV in Fiji recently to note that Fiji is stepping up its efforts to drive environmental protection efforts on behalf of sharks and rays.

WWF/TRAFFIC helps Chinese enforcement agencies enhance their shark fin identification skills

Added to Press Releases on 13 February 2018

More than 50 frontline enforcement officers from China’s Fishery Department of the Ministry of Agriculture (FAD) attended a fin identification and shark trade workshop hosted by relevant experts last week in Beijing. Co-organized by China’s CITES Management Authority and TRAFFIC, the training aimed to help Chinese government authorities improve their shark and ray identification techniques and learn more about international is shark and ray products.

89 Singapore establishments to remove shark products

Added to Press Releases on 09 February 2018

Singapore’s shark movement just marked a significant win as F&B businesses take action against serving shark products. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 89 Singapore-based establishments have committed to phasing out shark fin in 2018. These include brands such as Crystal Jade, Pan Pacific Hotels and foodpanda, whose policy applies across its 3,800 partner restaurants.