It is a bold move for a developing island nation struggling to balance generating tax revenue with environmental protection.

Palau, in a comprehensive marine protection bill signed into law this month, also banned vessels from catching sharks in their waters all together -- an additional step few countries have taken to protect a species marine conservationists say is threatened by over-fishing.

The law states fishermen must now release a shark, dead or alive, even if it is caught unintentionally -- what fishermen call by-catch.

It also creates a 93 kilometres (50-nautical-mile radius around the main islands of Palau where foreign vessels are banned from fishing all together.

In addition to sharks, the law protects reef fish, sea turtles, rays, and any marine mammal from foreign fishing. The law matches the increase protections with hefty criminal penalties.

"We recognize our resources are fragile and quite limited and we want to ensure they are there for future generations. We just can't talk about sustainable development," said President Tommy Remengesau

"We also have a responsibility (to the international community) to preserve these resources that are fast disappearing on the earth."

Remengesau recently received some international attention in May when he led a bonfire of shark fins seized in Palau.

He said then he wanted to send a message to foreign fishing vessels not to target sharks in Palau and to call for better protections in Palau.

Fishermen have increasingly targeted sharks for markets in Southeast Asia such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, where the expensive dish of shark fin soup is widely popular.

Marine biologists denounce shark finning because it wastes nearly the entire catch. But they also oppose fishing heavily for sharks because they are apex predators with slow reproductive cycles, meaning there are fewer sharks to absorb the impact of heavy fishing.

For small island nations such as Palau, the bans make economic sense, said Senator Yukiwo Dengokl, who introduced the marine protection bill.

Dengokl said that risking the depletion of Palau resources for a small amount of tax revenue is counter-intuitive in for a nation whose economy is driven by tourism.

Palau has centered efforts to raise its profile as a premiere dive destination and has plans afoot to develop sports fishing.

Dengokl also noted that the use of these same marine resources is interwoven with Palauan tradition and should be maintained for Palauans.

"This is a necessity," Dengokl said.

TERRA.WIRE