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A Preliminary Evaluation of the Status of Shark Species

Year of publication 1999

Pages 72

Author José I. Castro, Christa M. Woodley, Rebecca L. Brudek;Fishery and Aquaculture Economics and Policy Division

Product type Book (series)

ISBN 9251042993

Series title FAO Fisheries Technical Paper

Series number 0429-9345 - T380

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The status of shark species is reviewed based on the available data. A review of the history of shark fisheries demonstrates that intensive shark fisheries are not sustainable. Numerous problems are encountered in assessing shark populations: a general lack of biological and fishery data, lack of suitable models, and lack of validated age estimates. Sharks have an unusual combination of biological characteristics: slow growth and delayed maturation, long reproductive cycles, low fecundity and lo ng life spans. These characteristics make them vulnerable to overfishing. A preliminary evaluation of the status of shark species is made on the basis of historical data, the reproductive potential of each species, and the level of exploitation of the species. In this document, exploited shark species are classified numerically according to their vulnerability. The majority of these species are listed as Category 1, indicating that there are not sufficient data to assess the species. Available d ata indicate that sharks are very vulnerable and are threatened by overexploitation in many parts of the world.

Cite this content as:

Castro, J.I.; Woodley, C.M.; Brudek, R.L.A preliminary evaluation of the status of shark species.FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 380. Rome, FAO. 1999. 72p.

Language English

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