Hi friends! I'm leading a symposium on European shark conservation (recent policy relevant science, recent policy victories, current and emerging issues) at #IMCC6 @IMCC2020 ! Want to present? Contact me, let's chat! Reply here or Whysharksmatter @ gmail

#IMCCshark

Please RT!

I made a Storify of the tweets from the #IMCCshark #IMCC4 shark conservation panel storify.com/WhySharksMatter/imccshar... #SciComm @rmacpherson

Did anyone get a picture of the #IMCCshark panel? (I know @marianne_teoh did on the fancy camera, any phone pics you can tweet now?)

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @JABClaydon :Need more scientific data for sustainable shark fisheries management in Turks and Caicos

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @JABClaydon :Shark SCUBA tourism is valuable, but $ doesn't always go to poor fishermen who would otherwise catch sharks

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @JABClaydon :In the Caribbean, eating shark is a poor man's food, not a rich man's food. Socioeconomic issue

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @JABClaydon :Shark conservation is polarizing along racial/cultural lines. Some cultures traditionally eat shark.

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @JABClaydon :Is a policy change a victory? Is a behavior change a victory? Does policy change cause behavior change?

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @JABClaydon :Facts and arguments get filtered along every step science->advocacy->policy. Filters can become brick walls

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @JABClaydon :"Policy making is not a science. It is barely an art"

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @JABClaydon :Lots of scientific papers say "this data is important for management," but it often isn't

Last (before panel Q&A) at #IMCC4 #IMCCshark is the Director of the Dep't of Environment and Coastal Resources in the Turks and Caicos

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : We need to build research/enforcement capacity in the developing world

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : There are many ways for scientists to get involved in the fisheries management process

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Consistency matters. "Save all sharks but don't care about small sharks/rays" is not consistent.

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : What are your principles? Stop animal cruelty? Stop shark overfishing? Prevent extinction? Where?

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Different shark conservation NGOs have different approaches, goals. What is a "victory" differs, too.

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : There are many examples of shark conservation NGOs working together for common good.

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Many U.S. state-level bans on shark fins exempt fins from dogfish, a small non-charismatic shark

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Skate "winging" is just as cruel as shark finning, but fewer people seem to care

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Charisma matters. @GordonRamsay is a shark conservation advocate, but eats skate. #FlatSharks

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Great white shark populations are recovering on both coasts of the U.S. Success story!

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Shark finning is a problem in terms of gathering species-specific landing data, also animal cruelty

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Stopping shark finning is a "basic first step" in sustainable fisheries management, not a total solution

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Stopping finning is NOT a panacea for all the shark conservation problems out there. Limited solution!

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Shark finning is widely misunderstood by uninformed activists. Banned in much of the world

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @SharkAdvocates : Rays are more threatened than sharks, small sharks are a big chunk of the "100 million" sharks killed

Next up at #IMCC4 #IMCCshark is @SharkAdvocates , "elasmobranch conservation policy"

The next #IMCC4 #IMCCshark talk is "the role of non-expert activists in shark conservation" by David Shiiiiiiit that's me gotta run BRB

#IMCC4 #IMCCshark @AlistairDove : Some SCUBA tourists just want their pictures taken with sharks. // (Also true of anglers)