Compiled by | Wang Fang
20 years ago, the public was furious about the practice of shark finning. Legislations were enacted around the world to restrict shark fishing in order to eliminate this cruel and wasteful fishing method.However, researchers reported in the journal "Science" on January 11th that since then, the number of shark deaths related to fishing has continued to rise. By 2019, the number reached over 100 million annually. This trend could pose problems for already endangered marine animals."We have seen significant management measures taken to protect sharks, but it wasn't until this study that the related impacts were quantified," said Meaghen McCord, a fisheries scientist with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society who did not participate in the study.The study, led by Boris Worm, a marine ecologist at Dalhousie University in Canada, compiled shark catch data from various countries and international fisheries available. This work attempted to estimate shark fishing mortality rates globally for the first time and obtained a dataset of hundreds of millions of shark deaths from 2012 to 2019.The research team acknowledged that this number may be underestimated: sharks accidentally caught and released may not always survive; not every vessel has observers to record data; furthermore, most of the data is focused on commonly caught species, with fewer statistical data available for other sharks and small-scale fisheries.In order to estimate the mortality rates of sharks in regions with incomplete data, the research team developed statistical models that included information on ocean conditions, fisheries, and the species present in the area. The final estimate showed that the total number of shark deaths due to fishing increased from 76 million per year in 2012 to 101 million in 2019. Of these, 95% occurred in coastal areas rather than the high seas where conservation efforts are traditionally concentrated.The research team also interviewed 22 shark fishery experts, all but one confirmed that finning had decreased in nearly 70% of maritime jurisdictions where anti-finning laws had been enacted. Some people believe that the ban on finning may ironically lead to an increase in shark mortality rates. Because fishing vessels are required to preserve the entire shark rather than just its fins, this actually promotes the development of the shark meat market."Now there's a practice of cutting them up and marinating them in acid and citrus juice," admitted Worm, which is less wasteful than finning, "but once the shark is dead, it's dead."Many shark species need stronger protection. Laurenne Schiller, one of the authors of the paper and a researcher at Carleton University in Canada, said, "Our fisheries rely on sharks in the ocean, and they are very vulnerable."Related Paper Information:
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adf89
The Science News (2024-01-15, 2nd Edition, International)Editor | Zhao LuLayout | Guo GangPlease scan the QR code below for 3 seconds to recognize
