During his opening speech, H.E. Sultan Bin Alwan, the Assistant Undersecretary for External Audit and Acting Undersecretary of Water Resources Sector and Nature Protection, said the workshop is part of the ministry’s continuous efforts to support international endeavors aimed at protecting marine resources and stopping the illegal trade and hunting of sharks. The ministry’s support for the global campaign to protect the marine environment and promote sustainability falls in line with the UAE Vision 2021. As a reflection of this commitment, the UAE has signed relevant regional and international conventions such as the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Biological Diversity. It also signed numerous Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to protect migratory species. These include MoUs on marine turtles, dugong, accipitriformes and sharks. The UAE has also shown its support to international agreements aimed at protecting endangered species through the passage of Federal Law no. 11 of 2002 and the implementation of regulations regarding shark fishing.

The training workshop bolstered the ministry’s strategies for capacity building at the regional level. The ministry already issued several laws and regulations on organizing shark fishing and promoting shark conservation. In addition, the ministry conducted awareness programs to educate community members and fishermen about sharks and their significance.

This year, the participants comprised over 65 concerned government officials from the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Sudan, Comoro Islands, Libya, Somalia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain.

The workshop aimed to provide the attendees with in-depth knowledge of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals to help them implement its provisions especially those discussing the global status of sharks. During the training, the participants also gained insights about CITES and its significance and applications. The event also provided them a platform to discuss CITES’ list of endangered sharks and other marine species as well as the challenges facing the conservation efforts.

Peter Botchil, Manager, International Environmental Conventions, said: “The IFAW is thrilled to see a large number of Arab states participating in the international convention. Nine Arab countries are scheduled to sign an MoU on conservation of migratory sharks. This is a strong message to the rest of world and they serve as a role model in shark preservation efforts.”

Andria Poli from the Office of the Convention on Migratory Species, said: “Sharks play a vital role as primate predators. The territorial waters of signatory Arab countries are crucial since the region is host to several shark species.”

IFAW and the Office of Convention on Migratory Species praised UAE’s unwavering support to the international efforts to preserve sharks through sustainable management of migratory sharks.

Peter Botchil, Manager, IFAW’s International Environmental Conventions in IFAW, said: “The signing of the MoU by the Arab states sends a strong and important message to the world as it serves as a role model in terms of preserving sharks and marine resources. The move is highly important given the dwindling number of sharks and several marine species as a result of aggressive trade exploitation and climate change. These factors reduced the numbers of some species up to 80 per cent over the past decade.”