Report of the technical workshop on the status Limitations & opportunities for improving the monitoring of shark fisheries & trade. Rome 3-6/11/08 FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture report Series, Vol. 897

The Technical Workshop considered global and country specific information on shark fisheries and trade to identify limitations and strategies for improving their monitoring. Reports from a selected number of main shark fishing and trading nations described the status of shark fisheries and the efforts towards the development of a National Plan of Action for Sharks. The workshop recommended actions to promote the implementation of National Plans of Action for Sharks and to address specific problems affecting catch and trade monitoring, including lack specificity in data, underestimated catch volumes, and limitations in the customs codes used in trade monitoring.