Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Thursday, August 4, 2011
DU law students seek protection for predator during “Shark Week”

University of Denver Environmental Law Clinic says fearsome hunters are defenseless
Contact: Jay Tutchton (303) 993-6744

Other contact: Prof. Mike Harris, Director, University ofDenver Environmental Law Clinic * (720) 841-0400

DENVER— In the midstof television’s popular “Shark Week,” it’s hard to imagine nature’s mostfearsome predators are, in fact, defenseless against human beings. But theUniversity of Denver (DU) Sturm College of Law Environmental Law Clinic filed afederal lawsuit today to protect the powerful porbeagle shark because it cannotprotect itself from overfishing that has pushed the species to the brink ofextinction and left it in desperate need of federal protection.

The suit, filed bythe student law clinic on behalf of WildEarth Guardians, asks a federal courtin Washington, D.C., to overturn a ruling by the Department of Commerce thatdenied WildEarth Guardians’ 2010 bid to list the species as “threatened” or “endangered”under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The suit names Acting Secretary ofCommerce Rebecca Blank in her official capacity. Commerce officials rejectedWildEarth Guardians’ petition with a negative “90-day finding” in July, 2010.

“We are delighted toenlist the law students of the DU Clinic in an act of professional courtesy:legal sharks protecting real sharks,” says WildEarth Guardians’ General CounselJay Tutchton.

The porbeagle sharkis a relative to the great white shark. The species is known to be highlyintelligent, even seen engaging in playful behavior, and researchers say theshark plays an important environmental role, ensuring natural balance in itsecosystem. The porbeagle has a slow reproductive rate and is not reboundingfrom overfishing.

“By refusing toconsider the petition to protect the porbeagle shark, the government has againarbitrarily refused to follow the law when it comes to species prized by thecommercial fishing industry,” says DU Environmental Law Clinic director andlead attorney Michael Harris. “But the ESA is not merely intended to onlyprotect cute, fuzzy species with no commercial value; the law should protectall species in order to maintain diverse and healthy ecosystems.”

The species is foundin the North Atlantic, including waters off New England and the Mid-Atlanticand Northern Europe. The species is also found in the far southern Atlantic andthe Indian Ocean. Studies show stocks have dropped 90 percent off New Englandand Canada since heavy fishing began in 1961.

The SharkConservation Society in the United Kingdom supports WildEarth Guardian’spetition to list the porbeagle shark throughout its range. The Society statedthat “scientific evidence confirms serious stock depletions on both sides ofthe north Atlantic, and the European Union have reacted to this by giving thePorbeagle a zero TAC (Total Allowable Catch) rating.”