Kingdom of Tonga National Plan of Action for Sharks 2014-2016

The Kingdom of Tonga National Plan of Action for Sharks is a national sectoral plan of Tonga for the period 2014-2016. Its main objective is to ensure conservation and management of oceanic sharks in the Kingdom’s fisheries waters.
The Plan aims to help eliminate food insecurity as it recognizes that in some low-income food-deficit communities in the Kingdom, shark catches are a traditional and important source of food, employment and/or income. Therefore, according to the document, such catches should be managed on a sustainable basis to provide a continued source of food, employment and income to local communities.
More specifically, the Plan aims to: ascertain control over access of fishing vessels targeting sharks; decrease fishing effort where shark catch is proven unsustainable; close monitoring of catches and ensuring compliance with specific measures and limits in this Plan; improve the utilization of sharks caught; discourage waste and discards, encourage live release; control finning; prepare and submit report on the progress of the assessment, development and implementation of Tonga Shark-plan as part of biennial reporting to Food and Agriculture Organization on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; improve monitoring, control and surveillance and enforcement activities for the collection, processing, storage and marketing of sharks and shark-related products in the catching and processing sub-sectors; dedicate fisheries officer (by-catch) responsible for all by-catch species incl. sharks; promote practical and enforceable measures within Tonga longline fishery; improve and strengthen data collection and monitoring of shark data including log sheets, port sampling, observer reports, etc.; facilitate collection and provision of shark landing data from all Tonga fishing vessels and licensed vessels active in its EEZ; create and maintain species-specific national records of shark catches, landings and discards; if applicable, obtain utilization and trade data on shark species; facilitate the timely access to and exchange of information necessary to coordinate conservation and management measures, and facilitate training in data quality; facilitate and encourage research on little known shark species; promote and coordinate stock assessments and research in collaboration with appropriate management and scientific bodies – to estimate potential for a shark fishery and options in setting future hard limits; use shark identification guides and to train and raise awareness amongst stakeholders, particularly observers, crews, skippers and boat operators; seek assistance through OFP-SPC, Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Secretariat, Food and Agriculture Organization and others in the production of information and educational material in local language; cooperate with relevant agencies and institutions to facilitate the work conducted in relation to this Plan – raise profile of implementation in fisheries forums and committee meetings; build/strengthen overall capacity in research, data collection, monitoring, compliance and enforcement; regulate or manage the harvest of sharks in the Kingdom’s fisheries waters using the following combination of measures: encouraging setting targets based on the best available science for fish quotas, fishing effort and other restrictions to help achieve sustainable use; and discouraging development of national shark fishery.
The Plan will be reviewed annually plus a mid-term review at the end of the second year of implementation. Tonga’s Fisheries Division will report on the implementation of this Plan as part of its Annual Report, and if relevant, other fisheries related forums and committees.