STENAPA’s Shark Conservation Workshop brought together global, regional and local concepts surrounding the conservation of sharks, our fisheries and all of our marine life, thanks to Fisheries LVV, Nature Foundation St Maarten and Caribbean Netherlands Science Institute at St Eustatius – CNSI. We ended with personal experience with shark handling by one of our very own Carlyle Tearr. We will hear from Merrill Brown tomorrow about his experience as well as the future of shark conservation in Statia within the Yarari Marine Mammal and Shark Sanctuary. Our fishermen will get to see first hand how to safely handle a shark for tagging and release tomorrow afternoon, as expert Tadzio Bervoets guides them through the process.
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To Save our Sharks, some of Statia’s fishermen got to see the process of safely handling, tagging and releasing a Caribbean Reef Shark (Carcharhinus perezi) from Nature Foundation St Maarten’s Tadzio Bervoets. The tagging process helps researchers understand and monitor our shark populations. The fishermen also received dehookers, specialized pliers and hooks to assist them in safely releasing the sharks that occasionally bite on.
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