Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheries
- PMID: 31340216
- DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1444-4
Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheries
Abstract
Effective ocean management and the conservation of highly migratory species depend on resolving the overlap between animal movements and distributions, and fishing effort. However, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach that combines satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fleets, that 24% of the mean monthly space used by sharks falls under the footprint of pelagic longline fisheries. Space-use hotspots of commercially valuable sharks and of internationally protected species had the highest overlap with longlines (up to 76% and 64%, respectively), and were also associated with significant increases in fishing effort. We conclude that pelagic sharks have limited spatial refuge from current levels of fishing effort in marine areas beyond national jurisdictions (the high seas). Our results demonstrate an urgent need for conservation and management measures at high-seas hotspots of shark space use, and highlight the potential of simultaneous satellite surveillance of megafauna and fishers as a tool for near-real-time, dynamic management.
Comment in
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Industrial fishing boats leave few safe havens for sharks on the high seas.Nature. 2019 Aug;572(7770):449-450. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-02357-2. Nature. 2019. PMID: 31427796 No abstract available.
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Caution over the use of ecological big data for conservation.Nature. 2021 Jul;595(7866):E17-E19. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03463-w. Epub 2021 Jul 7. Nature. 2021. PMID: 34234327 No abstract available.
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Shark mortality cannot be assessed by fishery overlap alone.Nature. 2021 Jul;595(7866):E4-E7. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03396-4. Epub 2021 Jul 7. Nature. 2021. PMID: 34234329 No abstract available.
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