Press

Photo above: Pictured are dried shark fins for sale in Hong Kong. (Credit: Debra Abercrombie).

New research featured in the journal Marine Policy estimates a range of between 63 and 273 million sharks killed annually

STONY BROOK, NY, March 1, 2013 – The number of sharks killed each year in commercial fisheries is estimated at 100 million, with a range between 63 million and 273 million, according to the research “Global Catches, Exploitation Rates and Rebuilding Options for Sharks,” published in the journal Marine Policy on March 1, 2013. The article was co-authored by Dr. Demian Chapman, assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and assistant director of science at the Institute for Ocean Conservation at Stony Brook University.

The authors warn that the rate of fishing for shark species, many of which grow slowly and reproduce late in life, exceeds their ability to recover. Consequently, the authors wrote, “Global total shark mortality, therefore, needs to be reduced drastically in order to rebuild depleted populations and restore marine ecosystems with functional top predators.”

The paper, also co-authored by scientists from Florida International University, the University of Miami, Dalhousie University and the University of Windsor in Canada, calculates estimates by adding landed catch data reported to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to estimates of unreported landings, finned sharks, and other discards of dead sharks.

According to the research, this significant population decline is a result of a combination of a global boom in shark fishing — usually for their valuable fins — and the relatively slow growth and reproductive rates of sharks. The catch of sharks in commercial fisheries for their fins, meat, liver oil, cartilage, and other parts remains largely unregulated in most of the world, driving some populations toward extinction. The researchers recommend that protective measures for sharks be scaled up significantly to avoid further depletion and possible extinction of some of the world’s top predators.

This paper was published a few days before the convening of the 16th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok, Thailand. CITES is widely considered one of the best tools for protecting vulnerable species from extinction, and proposals for international trade regulation of several species of sharks will be considered during this meeting.

International trade regulation of several shark species to be considered at CITES Meeting Representatives of 177 governments from around the world are expected to attend the 16th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) March 3-14 in Bangkok, Thailand.

CITES, which was agreed to in Washington, DC, in 1973, offers protection to more than 30,000 animal and plant species around the globe. It has been instrumental in preventing their extinction and is generally recognized as one of the most effective and best-enforced international conservation agreements.

Proposals to regulate the international trade of five species of sharks and two related manta rays have been submitted and co-sponsored by 37 countries for consideration at the meeting. The proposed shark species — the oceanic whitetip, porbeagle, and three types of hammerhead — are among the most valuable and vulnerable sharks in international trade. A positive result will limit international trade of shark fin and meat and manta gill rakers and help reduce the threat of overfishing facing these species.

Dr. Chapman will attend the CITES meeting to give presentations about a shark fin identification guide he co-developed. Also, as a shark expert and co-author of two recently published scientific papers about sharks, Dr. Chapman will be available to speak with the news media and others as these shark species are being considered for international trade regulation.This guide is intended to help enforcement and customs personnel in the provisional identification of the first dorsal fins of these five shark species. In law enforcement situations, this could provide probable cause to hold questionable fins, so that expert opinion could be sought or genetic testing could be conducted to confirm the field identification. This guide is intended to help enforcement and customs personnel in the provisional identification of the first dorsal fins of these five shark species. In law enforcement situations, this could provide probable cause to hold questionable fins, so that expert opinion could be sought or genetic testing could be conducted to confirm the field identification.

This guide is intended to help enforcement and customs personnel in the provisional identification of the first dorsal fins of these five shark species. In law enforcement situations, this could provide probable cause to hold questionable fins, so that expert opinion could be sought or genetic testing could be conducted to confirm the field identification.

The shark fin identification guide, developed by Dr. Chapman and marine biologist Debra Abercrombie, is intended to help enforcement and customs personnel in the provisional identification of the first dorsal fins of five shark species of concern. These species — the oceanic whitetip, porbeagle and three species of hammerhead sharks (scalloped, smooth and great) — are globally distributed and large-bodied, and their fins are traded internationally in large numbers. In law enforcement situations, this guide could provide probable cause to hold questionable fins, so that expert opinion could be sought or genetic testing could be conducted to confirm the field identification.

Some sharks spend extended time periods in the protected waters of The Bahamas yet roam long distances when they leave

STONY BROOK, NY, February 20, 2013 – As the nations of the world prepare to vote on measures to restrict international trade in endangered sharks in early March, a team of researchers has found that one of these species – the oceanic whitetip shark – regularly crosses international boundaries. Efforts by individual nations to protect this declining apex predator within their own maritime borders may therefore need to be nested within broader international conservation measures.

The research team, which included researchers from Microwave Telemetry, Inc., the Cape Eleuthera Institute, and the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, attached pop-up satellite archival tags to one male and 10 female mature oceanic whitetip sharks off Cat Island in The Bahamas in May 2011, and monitored the sharks for varying intervals up to 245 days. The tags recorded depth, temperature, and location for pre-programmed periods of time. At the end of the time period, the tags self-detached from the sharks, and reported the data to orbiting satellites. Their findings, published online today in the journal PLOS ONE, show that some of these sharks roamed nearly 2,000 kilometers from the spot where they were caught, but all individuals returned to The Bahamas within a few months.

Preparing an oceanic whitetip shark for release after being fitted with a pop-up satellite archival tag. Photo credit: Phil Sokol

“While the oceanic whitetip shark is one of the most severely overexploited shark species, it is also among the least studied because it lives much of its life far from land in the open ocean,” said Lucy Howey-Jordan, scientific liaison for Microwave Telemetry, Inc. and lead author. “Before this study and our ongoing research, very few of these sharks had been fitted with satellite tags, and the data we obtained will help establish new conservation measures.”

All the tags, except the one attached to the male shark, reported data. Of the eight tagged oceanic whitetip sharks tracked for more than 31 days, three stayed within or very near The Bahamas Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for their entire tracking period. The other five sharks, after an approximate 30-day period of residency within 500 kilometers of the tagging area, made long-distance movements outside of the EEZ, with one traveling as far as Bermuda. The fact that all these tagged mature female sharks returned to The Bahamas provides the first evidence of return-migration in this species. Additional findings that were surprising to the scientists included the sharks spending an average of 68 percent of the monitored time in Bahamian waters, and that these sharks, normally found near the ocean’s surface, made dives of approximately 1,000 meters, possibly related to feeding behavior.

“Although these sharks are relatively safe from fishing in Bahamian waters, our study shows their long-range roaming takes them across the boundaries of different countries and into the high seas where they still encounter fishing gear set for other species,” said Dr. Demian Chapman, assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and assistant director of science at the Institute for Ocean Conservation at Stony Brook University. “If we want to continue to see these animals in our oceans, fishing nations will have to work together to protect this species, and monitoring of trade and enforcement measures will need to be coordinated on an international level.”

Once considered among the most abundant apex predators on Earth, overfishing has caused huge declines in oceanic whitetip sharks, and the species is listed as “Critically Endangered” in the Northwest Atlantic and Western Central Atlantic, and “Vulnerable” globally by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The fins of these sharks can be sold for $90 per kilogram because of the high demand for their use in shark fin soup, a delicacy in Chinese culture. There is growing international interest in improving the conservation of these sharks, including a proposal to list this species in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which will be considered at its upcoming Conference of Parties meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, March 3-14 of this year.

Oceanic whitetip shark with a pop-up satellite archival tag and two uniquely numbered external tags attached. Photo credit: Debra Canabal, Epic Diving

World renowned for its healthy shark populations and proactive conservation stance, The Bahamas is one of the few places left in the world where this open-ocean species can be found in relatively large numbers. In July 2011, during the timeframe of this study, The Bahamas banned all commercial fishing of sharks throughout the 630,000 square kilometers of surrounding ocean waters. The sharks now benefit from this protection, and the shark diving industry, a major contributor to the Bahamian economy, benefits from their presence in surrounding waters. Additionally, recent studies have shown ecosystem health is dependant, in part, on the presence of apex predators like sharks.

“The Bahamian government had the foresight to protect these and other species of sharks within their waters, starting with the longline fishing ban in early 90s, and culminating with the more recent shark sanctuary initiative,” said Edd Brooks, program manager of the Shark Research and Conservation Program at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. “This level of protection is vital for the continued existence of these important apex predators, and I hope that the example set by The Bahamas will encourage other nations to follow suit.”

This research was funded by Microwave Telemetry, Inc., the Cape Eleuthera Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Roe Foundation.

For more information on “Complex movements, philopatry and expanded depth range of a severely threatened pelagic shark, the oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus) in the western North Atlantic,” please visit http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056588 after 5 p.m. EST on Wed., February 20.

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Cape Eleuthera Institute is a marine field station situated on Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, The Bahamas.  It undertakes research on local environmental issues as well as acting as a host facility for marine and terrestrial scientists and visiting education groups of all ages. Cape Eleuthera Institute has especially focussed on developing new methods of resource use and management applicable to the Caribbean, such as effective use of solar energy and local recycling of waste organic and other materials.  Its sister organisation, The Island School (www.islandschool.org), is a semester abroad program for high school students from the United States and The Bahamas, for whom the Cape Eleuthera Institute provides hands-on research experience through their in-house research programs.  For more information, please visit www.ceibahamas.org.

The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University is dedicated to advancing ocean conservation through science. The Institute transforms real-world policy while pursuing serious science, both of which are essential for ocean health.  For more information, go to: www.oceanconservationscience.org.

Microwave Telemetry, Inc. manufactures reliable and accurate electronic devices for tracking avian and marine species using cutting-edge technologies developed at its facility in Columbia, Maryland, USA. The company’s continual effort to develop smaller and smarter devices is driven by the needs of researchers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.microwavetelemetry.com.