Quantifying the unreported and unaccounted domestic and foreign commercial catch of sharks and rays in Western Australia

Reliable catch information is scarce for most sharks and rays worldwide, with almost half of the stocks considered to be Data Deficient due to limited species-specific catch statistics. Western Australia (WA) hosts a diverse number of shark and ray species, some of which are considered to be threate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 2021-07, Vol.50 (7), p.1337-1350
Main Authors: Braccini, Matias, Kangas, Mervi, Jaiteh, Vanessa, Newman, Stephen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric Sciences
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Environment
Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology
Environmental Management
Fisheries
Fishing
Physical Geography
Protected species
Research Article
Sharks
Species extinction
Statistics
Threatened species
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Summary:Reliable catch information is scarce for most sharks and rays worldwide, with almost half of the stocks considered to be Data Deficient due to limited species-specific catch statistics. Western Australia (WA) hosts a diverse number of shark and ray species, some of which are considered to be threatened with extinction at a global level. Commercial catch statistics only account for shark and ray landings. The present study used the best available information to reconstruct unaccounted and unreported catches for 47 shark and ray taxa to better understand the impact of fishing. For some species, there was good agreement between reconstructed catches and reported landings, but overall reconstructed catches were 57% higher than those derived from official statistics alone, underestimating the actual extraction level for many species. The reconstructed catch time series provide the basis for the assessment of all species of sharks and rays captured in WA, including protected species that interact with commercial and recreational fisheries.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209
DOI:10.1007/s13280-020-01495-6