Sharks Under Siege: The Alarming Reality of Fishing

Why are sharks so important?

Sharks have always played key roles in the oceans – shaping them for hundreds of millions of years. They are irreplaceable when it comes to managing ocean health and keeping things in balance and order. Large sharks like great white and tiger sharks reside at the top of the food chain (apex predators) while smaller sharks fill roles within the lower rungs of the food chain (meso predators). Regardless where sharks lie in the chain they all apply pressure on populations of fish, squid, crabs and other marine animals – not allowing any group to grow too abundant and upset the delicate balance of the ocean. Because of this, sharks are very good at promoting and increasing the biodiversity of our oceans - they do this by feeding on those species that have the greatest numbers, allowing for other species to have a chance to grow in number creating a healthier and stronger ecosystem.

Ecosystems experience change all the time. These days we see ocean temperatures increasing due to global warming, new weather patterns and changes in the communities of marine animals due to commercial fishing. Observing the impacts of these changes, have shown the ecosystems with greater biodiversity have been much more resilient to collapse than those ecosystems with low biodiversity. The ability to survive in the face of change is?why biodiversity is important to an ecosystem.?

How have they become endangered?

Despite the dominance sharks hold in their own respective ecosystems we have seen a dramatic fall in their numbers over the last 100 years and this is predominantly down to human interference and greed. Their main threat globally has been and still is overfishing, in the last half a century we have seen a rapid increase in industrial and commercial fishing which has resulted in 167 separate species of sharks being made endangered. When compared to the 31 species that were endangered in 1980, there is no doubt that whether it be through direct fishing or bycatching (the catching of a shark by a vessel attempting to catch other fish such as tuna) we are the main cause and reason for this dramatic decline in numbers across the world – shark populations in high seas have fallen by a staggering 71% since 1970, this is no coincidence.

If overfishing continues at the rate it is currently, it will only be a matter of time until we reach a point of no return – fishing fleets around the world currently catch an astounding 100-200 million sharks each year. This coupled with the fact that sharks take far longer than most other fish to mature, grow and develop young has resulted in a consistent decline in numbers – on average around 6-7% of sharks are killed every year while their rebound rates are only around 4-5% meaning we are killing more sharks than they can reproduce and of course, this isn’t sustainable and will only result in the eradication of sharks altogether.

On top of this, shark finning is a big factor into why such large numbers of sharks are being caught and killed every year. Shark finning is the process in which the animal’s fins are removed prior to the body being discarded back into the ocean – due to the high value of the fins at Asian markets, this practice is globally widespread. Some jurisdictions, such as Canada, United States, Australia and areas of Europe have gradually introduced anti-finning legislation over the last decade, yet the practice continues in most other parts of the world.

While the governments in shark-catching countries and regional fisheries management bodies largely moved in the right direction to address overfishing in the past decade, they typically fall short of implementing measures to directly control the amount of fishing, through the use of catch limits and legal restrictions. Ultimately, due to this half-hearted approach, sharks and rays are now the second-most threatened vertebrate group on the planet.

So what can be done?

Shark protection and shark conservation requires the cooperation of governments, industry and fishing management organisations. However, these sorts of negotiations are often unproductive and difficult due to the money that shark fishing and finning brings into certain countries and the fact that there can’t be a voice for the sharks present in these negotiations. However, there are organisations such as Humane Society International and Australian Marine Conservation Society among many others who fight to provide a sustainable future for sharks, the ocean and the rest of the natural world. Funding the efforts of non-profit organisations working for shark conservation is often raised through “adopt a shark” or “sponsor a shark” schemes or through donations on the respective organisation’s social medias/websites. Although these methods are productive in terms of keeping the organisations going, the most productive way to action change as with most things is to contact elected officials and vocally advocate for shark conservation and by making sustainable choices when it comes to our seafood.

With the correct implementation of fishing regulations, we can help species recover and increase their numbers again. The white shark, for example, is bouncing back off the U.S. east and west coasts because of this kind of protection. For these less endangered species, reducing the amount of catch can help significantly.

Whale sharks – case study

Whale sharks are by far the largest fish in the ocean, with large females reaching up to 20m in length. They typically feed on plankton and they travel enormous distances in order to find enough food to sustain their huge size and so they may reproduce. Whale sharks are found in all tropical oceans around the world. However, they are still quite mysterious animals - Females give birth to live young but this has never been observed, where the pupping occurs and where the youngest offspring reside is still unknown as they are so rarely found. Adults often feed on large areas of plankton near the surface – however, when they aren’t feeding they may dive 1000m deep making them near impossible to see at this depth.

Despite whale sharks being protected from fishing in many countries, they are in decline in some areas – their main threat is them being in high demand for their meat, fins and oils. They are often victims to bycatch where they become entangled in large scale fishing nets and industrial fishing operations. Whale shark tourism is also a problem if it isn’t managed ecologically, as this interrupts their feeding and it is also common for boats to crash into and injure the sharks when they are feeding at the surface. As a result of these threats, whale shark numbers have globally dropped by 50% in the last 75 years which is a drastic loss. This coupled with the long life spans and late maturation of the sharks means they are reproducing at a far slower rate than they are dying. Whale sharks are key to helping us identify the health and overall biodiversity of the oceans as large groups of whale sharks gather in areas that are abundant with plankton – this means they are key indicators as to what areas of our oceans are healthy and thriving and where is struggling for biodiversity.

However, the WWF are one of many companies working to learn more about these mysterious creatures so we may conserve their species & allow them to thrive. They study shark habitats and gather information on individual sharks by using satellite tags, sonar devices and digital cameras – this information is used to create further protection where required for the whale sharks.

WWF has also been involved with implementing ecologically sound whale shark tourism since 1998 – Donsol Bay, Philippines attracts huge numbers of whale sharks due to the high levels of plankton found in the surrounding waters. They manage the tourism to ensure the whale sharks are safe during these frequent encounters with people and tour boats. Both here and in Mexico, WWF educates tourists on codes of conduct for swimming with the sharks and raises awareness with tour boat operators about the movements and whereabouts of the sharks – because of this they have managed to reduce the number of boat collisions that occur.

Until globally, governments and commercial entities can agree to all put procedures & regulations in place to aid our wildlife and ensure they work ecologically and sustainably, companies such as WWF are our best bet.

It is imperitive to ensure we are working with these beautiful creatures and not against them in order to keep our biodiverse planet alive.