Vice President Doctor Mohamed Waheed pledged the country’s support to a new international effort to protect sharks, at a ceremony in New York on Thursday morning.

The Vice President joined leaders from the Bahamas, Colombia, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, and Palau to support the creation of shark sanctuaries around the world.

The initiative was organised by the Pew Environment Group, an environmental campaigning group based in the United States.

The sanctuaries are designed to prevent the extinction of sharks, symbolizing the latest development in the growing movement to safeguard the ocean's top predator.

Members of the coalition committed to a declaration supporting the development of sanctuaries that end commercial shark fishing in their national waters. The Maldives has already outlawed shark fishing in its territorial waters and banned the export of sharks and shark products.

Over 10% of tourists visit the Maldives specifically to dive and snorkel, making the Maldivian dive industry a multi-million dollar business. Divers frequently say spotting a shark is a highlight of a dive. The shark fishing ban has received strong support from the tourism industry, and dive schools and safari boat operators in particular.

A growing number of countries are introducing laws to protect sharks. Commercial fishing of sharks animals is now prohibited in more than 2.7 million square kilometers (1 million square miles) around the world, an area larger than Mexico and Texas combined. Trade bans on sharks and shark products were recently passed in the US states of California, Washington, Oregon as well as in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

"With each new sanctuary, sharks gain another ally in their fight for survival," said Matt Rand, director of Global Shark Conservation for the Pew Environment Group.

Sharks are especially vulnerable to overfishing because they mature and reproduce slowly. As top predators, their depletion also has risks for the health of entire ocean ecosystems. Up to 73 million of these animals are killed each year to support the global fin trade, while 30 percent of all sharks are threatened or near threatened with extinction. Some populations, such as the scalloped hammerhead, have declined by up to 98 percent. But many governments are recognizing that sharks are more valuable alive and can be a key economic driver as a tourist attraction.

"The shark sanctuary here supports the health of our ocean environment and economy," said Honduran President Lobo Sosa, at Thursday’s event. "However, these species migrate beyond our waters, so it is necessary for us to work together to ensure that their populations and marine ecosystems are healthy."

Sharks are the intended catch of some fisheries. They are also frequently caught unintentionally as bycatch. In certain fishing operations, including open sea longliners that target tuna and swordfish, as much as 25 percent of the take can be shark bycatch.

"When I created Palau's sanctuary in 2009, I knew our country's action could not accomplish the task of conserving the ocean's vast biodiversity alone," said Palauan President Toribiong. "Our ocean's health depends on sharks. I am delighted that more countries are pledging to play an active role in ensuring these creatures' survival, not just in our lifetime but for future generations as well."

Under the declaration supported by The Bahamas, Colombia, Honduras, the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia and Palau, up to 6 million additional square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) - greater than three times the land mass of Mexico -could be off-limits to commercial shark fishing and designated as shark sanctuaries. By signing the pledge, signatories commit to:

- maintain or develop shark sanctuaries;

- work together internationally to ensure healthy shark populations; and
- advocate for better science-based precautionary protection for sharks in all international fora.

"We applaud these countries for their leadership in protecting these amazing animals, and Pew will continue to work with governments and key stakeholders to support shark conservation efforts as they implement these new commitments," said Rand.