Policy

Under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India (GoI), the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA) is the primary national law that directly addresses the conservation of flora and fauna in India. Its purpose is to identify and classify high-risk species/groups, regions with rich biodiversity, or habitats for threatened fauna that need to be prioritised for conservation and protection. In addition to the WLPA, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 also protects coastal areas by establishing zones for coastal regulation and establishing laws for those zones. The whale shark and eight other elasmobranch species are now protected under the WLPA, which was updated in December 2001. The recent Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2022 contains revisions that have been suggested to the Act.

In August 2013, the MoEF&CC (Wildlife Division), GoI, banned the removal of shark fins from live sharks in the water and encouraged the landing of the entire shark with fins intact in the body. Fins of all shark species have been banned from being exported and imported since February 2015 by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoI. One of the first worldwide initiatives for shark conservation was the United Nations International Plan of Action (IPOA- Sharks) in 1999. This voluntary plan requires each government to manage and protect sharks through a National Plan of Action (NPOA). The Guidance on NPOA for Sharks in India, released in 2015 by ICAR-CMFRI outlined the goals that needed to be addressed as well as the gaps in current research and policy. India has agreed to carry out various clauses in these accords and is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), to name a few.

Elasmobranch conservation in India needs to overcome certain challenges to form appropriate management strategies effectively. The nomenclature and taxonomy of many elasmobranch species need to be revised. There is an urgent need for studies focusing on resolving taxonomic ambiguities using molecular genetic studies. These genetic population studies are essential to give us an idea about the population boundaries and subpopulation structures. Information on the stock and migration of sharks is also limited, due to complete reliance on fisheries-dependent studies alone. It is high time that studies that merge fisheries-dependent and independent studies are encouraged. Incorporating updated taxonomy, genetic insights, and a holistic approach merging fisheries-dependent and independent studies will pave the way for robust elasmobranch conservation strategies in India. By addressing these challenges, we can foster a comprehensive understanding of population dynamics, migratory patterns, and ecological roles, empowering informed decisions and collaborative efforts toward ensuring the longevity of these vital marine species and their ecosystems.