These Guidelines have been produced to support implementation of the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks (IPOA-Sharks). The Guidelines are addressed to decision-makers and policy-makers associated with conserving shark and other chondrichthyan species and with managing the harvest of these resources, but they should be of interest to fishing industries and other parties.

The IPOA-Sharks is consistent with the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, agreements from the 1995 United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and any applicable rules of international law. It encompasses all shark and other chondrichthyan fisheries, both target and non-target fisheries, whether they be industrial, artisanal or traditional fisheries or fishing programmes designed to reduce risk of shark attack on humans.

The IPOA-Sharks is not a full strategic plan for the world, rather it prescribes a process whereby individual States, States participating in sub-regional arrangements through bilateral and multilateral agreements to manage shared transboundary shark stocks, and relevant regional fisheries management organizations (RFMO), identify national, subregional and regional issues and then develop national and regional Shark Plans to address the issues.

The guiding principles of the IPOA-Sharks and the Guidelines are that States contributing to fishing mortality of a species or stock should participate in its conservation and management, and that, as a traditional and important source of food, employment and income, shark resources be used sustainably. The precautionary approach to conservation and management is embraced when the status of a resource is uncertain, such as when fishery data are insufficient or unreliable.