News

20
Oct
2017

Respecting our Greenland Shark Elders and Elevating Skates at NAFO

Several Northwest Atlantic shark and ray (elasmobranch) populations under the purview of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization’s (NAFO)are in a precarious state and in need of domestic and international safeguards. Two representatives of the Shark League for the Atlantic and Mediterranean attended the 39th annual meeting of NAFO in Montreal, Canada this September to advocate on behalf of these species and lay the groundwork for conservation action in 2018.

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5
Sep
2017

Fishing mortality of mako sharks ten times higher than fisheries’ estimates

Source: Mongabay
Author: Neha Jain

  • For the first time, researchers used satellite tags attached to the fins of 40 juvenile shortfin mako sharks to directly quantify fishing mortality in the Northern Atlantic.
  • Over the course of three years, 12 (30 percent) of the sharks were harvested, mostly by longline fisheries from five countries.
  • Fishing mortality was ten times higher than estimates based on catch data reported by the fisheries, and 15 to 18 times higher than the rate associated with maximum sustainable yield, suggesting substantial overfishing.

Continue reading Fishing mortality of mako sharks ten times higher than fisheries’ estimates