TUNIS, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia has become the second largest fishing country for sharks in the Mediterranean after Libya, according to a report issued by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Sunday.
The report, which comes on the occasion of Shark Awareness Day observed annually on July 14, is themed "The sharks in crisis: a call to action for the Mediterranean."
"More than half of the species of sharks and sea rays are more and more threatened in the Mediterranean zone, especially since about a third is fished at a critical level of extinction," it said.
The WWF report calls on fishermen and fishery managers on both sides of the Mediterranean to avoid fishing in critical areas such as nurseries and to use adapted gear to eliminate bycatch.
It also underlines the need to improve knowledge of shark populations and commercialized species in order to strengthen conservation efforts and ensure transparency and legality in the fishing sector.
