Overfishing is driving reef sharks toward extinction, according to new study published this week in Science: The five main shark species that live on coral reefs, grey reef, blacktip reef, whitetip reef, nurse and Caribbean reef sharks, have declined globally by an average of 63 percent, according to the scientists of Global FinPrint, a five-year international study supported by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
More than 150 researchers from over 120 institutions around the world, including Thomas CLAVERIE, Senior Lecturer
(CUFR MAYOTTE, MARBEC), contributed to this study which includes 22,000 hours of video footage from baited underwater video stations across 391 reefs in 67 nations and territories, indicates widespread overfishing is the main culprit driving reef sharks toward extinction.
"These are some of the best estimates of population decline of widespread shark species because of the very large number of reefs and countries sampled. This tells us the problem for sharks on coral reefs is far worse and more widespread than anyone thought"
Colin SIMPFENDORFER, lead author of the study and adjunct professor of Marine and Aquaculture Science at James Cook University in Australia
Early results from this study were previously used to update the status of four of these species to more threatened categories on the International Union for the Conservation of Natures (IUCN) Red List. They were also presented during the most recent Conference of the Parties of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), helping world governments to make the groundbreaking decision to better regulate trade in these and more than 50 additional species of sharks.
"This means no trade should come from nations where the take of the species will threaten its survival. This study can be used to help identify those nations where such catches would be detrimental. We need to act now to stop widespread extinction of shark species in many parts of the world"
Colin SIMPFENDORFER, lead author of the study and adjunct professor of Marine and Aquaculture Science at James Cook University in Australia
To know more
Simpfendorfer, C.A., Heithaus, M.R., Heupel, M.R., MacNeil, M.A., Meekan, M., Harvey, E., Sherman, C.S., Currey-Randall, L.M., Goetze, J.S., Kiszka, J.J., Rees, M.J., Speed, C.W., Udyawer, V., Bond, M.E., Flowers, K.I., Clementi, G.M., Valentin-Albanese, J., Adam, M.S., Ali, K., Asher, J., Aylagas, E., Beaufort, O., Benjamin, C., Bernard, A.T.F., Berumen, M.L., Bierwagen, S., Birrell, C., Bonnema, E., Bown, R.M.K., Brooks, E.J., Brown, J.J., Buddo, D., Burke, P.J., Cáceres, C., Cambra, M., Cardeñosa, D., Carrier, J.C., Casareto, S., Caselle, J.E., Charloo, V., Cinner, J.E., Claverie, T., Clua, E.E.G., Cochran, J.E.M., Cook, N., Cramp, J.E., D’Alberto, B.M., de Graaf, M., Dornhege, M.C., Espinoza, M., Estep, A., Fanovich, L., Farabaugh, N.F., Fernando, D., Ferreira, C.E.L., Fields, C.Y.A., Flam, A.L., Floros, C., Fourqurean, V., Gajdzik, L., Barcia, L.G., Garla, R., Gastrich, K., George, L., Giarrizzo, T., Graham, R., Guttridge, T.L., Hagan, V., Hardenstine, R.S., Heck, S.M., Henderson, A.C., Heithaus, P., Hertler, H., Padilla, M.H., Hueter, R.E., Jabado, R.W., Joyeux, J.-C., Jaiteh, V., Johnson, M., Jupiter, S.D., Kaimuddin, M., Kasana, D., Kelley, M., Kessel, S.T., Kiilu, B., Kirata, T., Kuguru, B., Kyne, F., Langlois, T., Lara, F., Lawe, J., Lédée, E.J.I., Lindfield, S., Luna-Acosta, A., Maggs, J.Q., Manjaji-Matsumoto, B.M., Marshall, A., Martin, L., Mateos-Molina, D., Matich, P., McCombs, E., McIvor, A., McLean, D., Meggs, L., Moore, S., Mukherji, S., Murray, R., Newman, S.J., Nogués, J., Obota, C., Ochavillo, D., O’Shea, O., Osuka, K.E., Papastamatiou, Y.P., Perera, N., Peterson, B., Pimentel, C.R., Pina-Amargós, F., Pinheiro, H.T., Ponzo, A., Prasetyo, A., Quamar, L.M.S., Quinlan, J.R., Reis-Filho, J.A., Ruiz, H., Ruiz-Abierno, A., Sala, E., de-León, P.S., Samoilys, M.A., Sample, W.R., Schärer-Umpierre, M., Schlaff, A.M., Schmid, K., Schoen, S.N., Simpson, N., Smith, A.N.H., Spaet, J.L.Y., Sparks, L., Stoffers, T., Tanna, A., Torres, R., Travers, M.J., van Zinnicq Bergmann, M., Vigliola, L., Ward, J., Warren, J.D., Watts, A.M., Wen, C.K., Whitman, E.R., Wirsing, A.J., Wothke, A., Zarza-González, E., Chapman, D.D., 2023. Widespread diversity deficits of coral reef sharks and rays. Science 380, 1155–1160. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade4884