Blue sharks facing
challenges, foundation finds
Sefira bracha fialkoff - Sentinel Correspondent
Posted: 11/29/2008 01:31:35 AM PST
A 7-foot-long blue shark that was tagged and
released in Monterey Bay this summer was killed
in a drift gill-net off of the Channel Islands of
Southern California last month, highlighting the
perils the once-numerous species faces.
The shark was collected, tagged and released
during a routine shark survey by the Pelagic
Shark Research Foundation. The foundation
began tagging sharks in the bay in 1990.
"We've been able to map out the migratory path
of these animals and with this information we've
basically proven a lot of conventional wisdom
wrong," said Sean Van Sommeran, foundation
director.
When the foundation started, blue sharks were
thought to have a coastal migratory route, but
the group's research indicates a deep-water
pan-Pacific route.
In 1999, the group won a grant from the Santa
Cruz County Fish and Game Commission, which
allowed it to successfully tag 61 blue sharks the
following year. One of these sharks was
recovered and reported to the group by a
Japanese biologist in 2002, 600 miles off Japan's
coast.
challenges, foundation finds
Sefira bracha fialkoff - Sentinel Correspondent
Posted: 11/29/2008 01:31:35 AM PST
A 7-foot-long blue shark that was tagged and
released in Monterey Bay this summer was killed
in a drift gill-net off of the Channel Islands of
Southern California last month, highlighting the
perils the once-numerous species faces.
The shark was collected, tagged and released
during a routine shark survey by the Pelagic
Shark Research Foundation. The foundation
began tagging sharks in the bay in 1990.
"We've been able to map out the migratory path
of these animals and with this information we've
basically proven a lot of conventional wisdom
wrong," said Sean Van Sommeran, foundation
director.
When the foundation started, blue sharks were
thought to have a coastal migratory route, but
the group's research indicates a deep-water
pan-Pacific route.
In 1999, the group won a grant from the Santa
Cruz County Fish and Game Commission, which
allowed it to successfully tag 61 blue sharks the
following year. One of these sharks was
recovered and reported to the group by a
Japanese biologist in 2002, 600 miles off Japan's
coast.
"These sharks showing up so far from the
original projected paths are indicators of
extreme fishing pressures," Van Sommeran said.
Blue sharks are heavily impacted by high seas,
coastal drift gill-nets and by the finning industry,
which kills sharks for their high dollar value fins,
Van Sommeran said.
Humans kill an estimated 38 million sharks for
their fins each year, according to the
International Shark Attack File.
Commercial fishing mortality of sharks in U.S.
waters averages 20,000 metric tons per year,
according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric
Administration.
"It's all about sustainability. If you take out a
long-standing fixture of an environment, it has a
very negative effect," Van Sommeran said.
The Shark Finning Prohibition Act, signed in
2000, made it illegal for a foreign vessel to
offload shark fins in a U.S. port, unless they
offload the rest of the shark carcass as well. The
rule is aimed at drastically reducing the number
of sharks finned and carcasses discarded at sea.
"There's a big problem with enforcing these
regulations, because when they find boats with
sharks fins on them you can't tell where it was
collected or what type of species it is," said Van
Sommeran.
The PSRF is collecting DNA fingerprints of shark
species to use as enforcement tools.
original projected paths are indicators of
extreme fishing pressures," Van Sommeran said.
Blue sharks are heavily impacted by high seas,
coastal drift gill-nets and by the finning industry,
which kills sharks for their high dollar value fins,
Van Sommeran said.
Humans kill an estimated 38 million sharks for
their fins each year, according to the
International Shark Attack File.
Commercial fishing mortality of sharks in U.S.
waters averages 20,000 metric tons per year,
according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric
Administration.
"It's all about sustainability. If you take out a
long-standing fixture of an environment, it has a
very negative effect," Van Sommeran said.
The Shark Finning Prohibition Act, signed in
2000, made it illegal for a foreign vessel to
offload shark fins in a U.S. port, unless they
offload the rest of the shark carcass as well. The
rule is aimed at drastically reducing the number
of sharks finned and carcasses discarded at sea.
"There's a big problem with enforcing these
regulations, because when they find boats with
sharks fins on them you can't tell where it was
collected or what type of species it is," said Van
Sommeran.
The PSRF is collecting DNA fingerprints of shark
species to use as enforcement tools.
