R. Charles Anderson and Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Introduction

This region covers the Indian Ocean north of the equator and, for the purposes of this report, we also include Chagos to the south. It extends from Somalia in the west to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and includes the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. At least 23 countries have coastlines in the region. It is the smallest of the IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG) regions and encompasses only tropical waters (see Figure 7.16).

Most of the information on landings of elasmobranchs presented here was gathered from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics. The FAO Fishing Areas that contribute to this SSG region are: the northern section of Area 51 and the north-western section of Area 57. Published data for the region are limited. Apart from FAO statistics, major sources of information were Bonfil (1994 – Overview of world elasmobranch fisheries), TRAFFIC (1996 – The world trade in sharks) and, for India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the FAO Case Studies (Anderson and Waheed 1999; Hanfee 1999; Joseph 1999) and the case study on India in Vannuccini (1999).

Reported landings of elasmobranchs in the region are high, currently representing at least a quarter of worldwide landings reported through the FAO system and have been increasing steadily since the mid-1980s (Figure 7.17), with three of the countries in this region (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) being amongst the 10 major elasmobranch fishing nations in the world (Clarke et al. this volume). Management of elasmobranch fisheries throughout the region is limited and the presence of large human populations (e.g. India) and high reliance on the ocean for protein (e.g. Sri Lanka) will maintain the pressure on elasmobranch stocks. Research on the status of elasmobranch populations in the region is lacking.

Management and conservation

Despite including three of the world’s largest elasmobranch fishing nations, management of elasmobranch fisheries within the region is almost non-existent. Most countries have regulations pertaining to general fishing (e.g. registration of vessels), but have no specific regulations for elasmobranchs, or elasmobranch fisheries. The exceptions to this are India and the Maldives. Nine species of sharks and rays, including the whale shark Rhincodon typus, are protected in India (ICSF 2001) and the landing of these species is banned (see below). The Maldives have instituted regulations restricting exports (including a ban on export of ray products), establishing protected areas and protecting R. typus.

While many of the exploited species cross national boundaries there are no mechanisms in place for joint management of stocks. The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) has agreed to act as a regional data depository for oceanic shark catch data; however, this relies on national authorities to submit the data and at the moment this is not occurring as it should be.

The African countries within this region are encompassed by the African Shark Management Group (ASMG) discussed briefly in Compagno et al. (this volume b). This is a new advisory group, aiming to build capacity and share expertise for the sustainable use and conservation of elasmobranchs (IFAW 2001).

Illegal fishing for elasmobranchs has also been reported in a number of countries. Often these are countries in which civil war has caused the loss of government infrastructure(e.g. Eritrea and Somalia), or where enforcement capability is small (e.g. Maldives and Chagos).