Global shark fishing mortality still rising despite widespread regulatory change

Over the past two decades, sharks have been increasingly recognized among the world's most threatened wildlife and hence have received heightened scientific and regulatory scrutiny. Yet, the effect of protective regulations on shark fishing mortality has not been evaluated at a global scale. He...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2024-01, Vol.383 (6679), p.225-230
Main Authors: Worm, Boris, Orofino, Sara, Burns, Echelle S, D'Costa, Nidhi G, Manir Feitosa, Leonardo, Palomares, Maria L D, Schiller, Laurenne, Bradley, Darcy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Animals, Wild
Conservation of Natural Resources
Fisheries
Fishing
Hunting
Mortality
Sharks
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Summary:Over the past two decades, sharks have been increasingly recognized among the world's most threatened wildlife and hence have received heightened scientific and regulatory scrutiny. Yet, the effect of protective regulations on shark fishing mortality has not been evaluated at a global scale. Here we estimate that total fishing mortality increased from at least 76 to 80 million sharks between 2012 and 2019, ~25 million of which were threatened species. Mortality increased by 4% in coastal waters but decreased by 7% in pelagic fisheries, especially across the Atlantic and Western Pacific. By linking fishing mortality data to the global regulatory landscape, we show that widespread legislation designed to prevent shark finning did not reduce mortality but that regional shark fishing or retention bans had some success. These analyses, combined with expert interviews, highlight evidence-based solutions to reverse the continued overexploitation of sharks.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.adf8984