Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks

M Aaron MacNeil¹, Demian D Chapman², Michelle Heupel³, Colin A Simpfendorfer⁴, Michael Heithaus², Mark Meekan^{5

6}, Euan Harvey⁷, Jordan Goetze^{7

8}, Jeremy Kiszka², Mark E Bond², Leanne M Currey-Randall³, Conrad W Speed^{5

6}, C Samantha Sherman⁴, Matthew J Rees^{5

9}, Vinay Udyawer¹⁰, Kathryn I Flowers², Gina Clementi², Jasmine Valentin-Albanese¹¹, Taylor Gorham¹², M Shiham Adam¹³, Khadeeja Ali^{2

14}, Fabián Pina-Amargós¹⁵, Jorge A Angulo-Valdés^{16

17}, Jacob Asher^{18

19}, Laura García Barcia², Océane Beaufort²⁰, Cecilie Benjamin²¹, Anthony T F Bernard^{22

23}, Michael L Berumen²⁴, Stacy Bierwagen⁴, Erika Bonnema², Rosalind M K Bown²⁵, Darcy Bradley²⁶, Edd Brooks²⁷, J Jed Brown²⁸, Dayne Buddo²⁹, Patrick Burke³⁰, Camila Cáceres², Diego Cardeñosa¹¹, Jeffrey C Carrier³¹, Jennifer E Caselle³², Venkatesh Charloo³³, Thomas Claverie³⁴, Eric Clua³⁵, Jesse E M Cochran²⁴, Neil Cook^{36

37}, Jessica Cramp^{38

39}, Brooke D'Alberto⁴, Martin de Graaf⁴⁰, Mareike Dornhege⁴¹, Andy Estep⁴², Lanya Fanovich³⁶, Naomi F Farabaugh², Daniel Fernando²⁵, Anna L Flam⁴³, Camilla Floros⁴⁴, Virginia Fourqurean², Ricardo Garla⁴⁵, Kirk Gastrich², Lachlan George⁴, Rory Graham⁴⁶, Tristan Guttridge^{47

48}, Royale S Hardenstine²⁴, Stephen Heck¹¹, Aaron C Henderson^{49

50}, Heidi Hertler⁵⁰, Robert Hueter⁵¹, Mohini Johnson⁵², Stacy Jupiter⁵³, Devanshi Kasana², Steven T Kessel⁵⁴, Benedict Kiilu⁵⁵, Taratu Kirata⁵⁶, Baraka Kuguru⁵⁷, Fabian Kyne⁵⁸, Tim Langlois⁵⁹, Elodie J I Lédée⁶⁰, Steve Lindfield⁶¹, Andrea Luna-Acosta⁶², Jade Maggs⁶³, B Mabel Manjaji-Matsumoto⁶⁴, Andrea Marshall⁴³, Philip Matich⁶⁵, Erin McCombs⁶⁶, Dianne McLean^{5

6}, Llewelyn Meggs⁶⁷, Stephen Moore⁶⁸, Sushmita Mukherji⁴, Ryan Murray⁶⁹, Muslimin Kaimuddin⁷⁰, Stephen J Newman⁷¹, Josep Nogués⁷², Clay Obota⁷³, Owen O'Shea⁷⁴, Kennedy Osuka⁷⁵, Yannis P Papastamatiou², Nishan Perera²⁵, Bradley Peterson¹¹, Alessandro Ponzo⁶⁹, Andhika Prasetyo⁷⁶, L M Sjamsul Quamar⁷⁷, Jessica Quinlan², Alexei Ruiz-Abierno¹⁶, Enric Sala⁷⁸, Melita Samoilys^{73

79}, Michelle Schärer-Umpierre⁸⁰, Audrey Schlaff⁴, Nikola Simpson⁸¹, Adam N H Smith⁸², Lauren Sparks⁸³, Akshay Tanna^{25

84}, Rubén Torres⁸⁵, Michael J Travers⁷¹, Maurits van Zinnicq Bergmann^{2

47}, Laurent Vigliola⁸⁶, Juney Ward⁸⁷, Alexandra M Watts^{43

84}, Colin Wen⁸⁸, Elizabeth Whitman², Aaron J Wirsing⁸⁹, Aljoscha Wothke³⁶, Esteban Zarza-Gonzâlez⁹⁰, Joshua E Cinner³⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. a.macneil@dal.ca.
² Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA.
³ Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
⁵ Australian Institute of Marine Science, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶ The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁷ School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁸ Marine Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Centre for Sustainable Ecosystems Solutions, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
¹⁰ Australian Institute of Marine Science, Arafura Timor Research Facility, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
¹¹ School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
¹² Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
¹³ International Pole and Line Foundation, Malé, Maldives.
¹⁴ Maldives Marine Research Institute, Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture, Malé, Maldives.
¹⁵ Centro de Investigaciones de Ecosistemas Costeros (CIEC), Cayo Coco, Morón, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba.
¹⁶ Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de la Habana, Havana, Cuba.
¹⁷ Galbraith Marine Science Laboratory, Eckerd College, St Petersburg, FL, USA.
¹⁸ Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
¹⁹ Habitat and Living Marine Resources Program, Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Honolulu, HI, USA.
²⁰ Réseau requins des Antilles Francaises, Kap Natirel, Vieux-Fort, Guadeloupe.
²¹ Mahonia Na Dari Research and Conservation Centre, Kimbe, Papua New Guinea.
²² South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown, South Africa.
²³ Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
²⁴ Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
²⁵ Blue Resources Trust, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
²⁶ Bren School of Environmental Sciences and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
²⁷ Shark Research and Conservation Program, Cape Eleuthera Institute, Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
²⁸ Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
²⁹ University of the West Indies, Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, Discovery Bay, Jamaica.
³⁰ Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³¹ Albion College, Albion, MI, USA.
³² Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
³³ Coastal Impact, Quitula, Aldona Bardez, India.
³⁴ CUFR Mayotte & Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, IFREMER, Montpellier, France.
³⁵ PSL Research University, LABEX CORAIL, CRIOBE USR3278 EPHE-CNRS-UPVD, Mòorea, French Polynesia.
³⁶ Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville, Charlotteville, Trinidad and Tobago.
³⁷ School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
³⁸ ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
³⁹ Sharks Pacific, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
⁴⁰ Wageningen Marine Research, Wageningen University & Research, IJmuiden, The Netherlands.
⁴¹ Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴² Waitt Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
⁴³ Marine Megafauna Foundation, Truckee, CA, USA.
⁴⁴ The South African Association for Marine Biological Research, Oceanographic Research Institute, Durban, South Africa.
⁴⁵ Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
⁴⁶ Independent consultant, Hull, UK.
⁴⁷ Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, South Bimini, Bahamas.
⁴⁸ Saving the Blue, Kendall, Miami, FL, USA.
⁴⁹ Biology Department, College of Science, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
⁵⁰ The School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands.
⁵¹ Center for Shark Research, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA.
⁵² Operation Wallacea, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, UK.
⁵³ Wildlife Conservation Society, Melanesia Program, Suva, Fiji.
⁵⁴ Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁵⁵ Kenya Fisheries Service, Mombasa, Kenya.
⁵⁶ Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Development, Kiritimati, Kiribati.
⁵⁷ Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
⁵⁸ University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.
⁵⁹ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶⁰ Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁶¹ Coral Reef Research Foundation, Koror, Palau.
⁶² Departamento de Ecología y Territorio, Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.
⁶³ National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hataitai, New Zealand.
⁶⁴ Endangered Marine Species Research Unit, Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
⁶⁵ Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁶⁶ Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA, USA.
⁶⁷ Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, MD, USA.
⁶⁸ Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions, Parks & Wildlife WA, Pilbara Region, Nickol, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶⁹ Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, Jagna, The Philippines.
⁷⁰ Wasage Divers, Wakatobi and Buton, Indonesia.
⁷¹ Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, North Beach, Western Australia, Australia.
⁷² Island Conservation Society Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles.
⁷³ CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya.
⁷⁴ The Centre for Ocean Research and Education, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
⁷⁵ Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK.
⁷⁶ Center for Fisheries Research, Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta Utara, Indonesia.
⁷⁷ Universitas Dayanu Ikhsanuddin Bau-Bau, Bau-Bau, Indonesia.
⁷⁸ Pristine Seas, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA.
⁷⁹ Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁸⁰ HJR Reefscaping, Boquerón, Puerto Rico.
⁸¹ SalvageBlue, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
⁸² School of Natural and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
⁸³ Indo Ocean Project, PT Nomads Diving Bali, Nusa Penida, Indonesia.
⁸⁴ Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.
⁸⁵ Reef Check Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
⁸⁶ Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR ENTROPIE (IRD-UR-UNC-CNRS-IFREMER), Nouméa, New Caledonia.
⁸⁷ Secretariat of the Pacific Regional, Environment Programme, Apia, Samoa.
⁸⁸ Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁸⁹ School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁹⁰ Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo National Natural Park, GIBEAM Research Group, Universidad del Sinú, Cartagena, Colombia.

PMID: 32699418
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2519-y

Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks

M Aaron MacNeil et al. Nature. 2020 Jul.

. 2020 Jul;583(7818):801-806.

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2519-y. Epub 2020 Jul 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. a.macneil@dal.ca.
² Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA.
³ Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
⁵ Australian Institute of Marine Science, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶ The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁷ School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁸ Marine Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Centre for Sustainable Ecosystems Solutions, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
¹⁰ Australian Institute of Marine Science, Arafura Timor Research Facility, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
¹¹ School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
¹² Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
¹³ International Pole and Line Foundation, Malé, Maldives.
¹⁴ Maldives Marine Research Institute, Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture, Malé, Maldives.
¹⁵ Centro de Investigaciones de Ecosistemas Costeros (CIEC), Cayo Coco, Morón, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba.
¹⁶ Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de la Habana, Havana, Cuba.
¹⁷ Galbraith Marine Science Laboratory, Eckerd College, St Petersburg, FL, USA.
¹⁸ Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
¹⁹ Habitat and Living Marine Resources Program, Ecosystem Sciences Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Honolulu, HI, USA.
²⁰ Réseau requins des Antilles Francaises, Kap Natirel, Vieux-Fort, Guadeloupe.
²¹ Mahonia Na Dari Research and Conservation Centre, Kimbe, Papua New Guinea.
²² South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown, South Africa.
²³ Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
²⁴ Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
²⁵ Blue Resources Trust, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
²⁶ Bren School of Environmental Sciences and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
²⁷ Shark Research and Conservation Program, Cape Eleuthera Institute, Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
²⁸ Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
²⁹ University of the West Indies, Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, Discovery Bay, Jamaica.
³⁰ Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³¹ Albion College, Albion, MI, USA.
³² Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
³³ Coastal Impact, Quitula, Aldona Bardez, India.
³⁴ CUFR Mayotte & Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, IFREMER, Montpellier, France.
³⁵ PSL Research University, LABEX CORAIL, CRIOBE USR3278 EPHE-CNRS-UPVD, Mòorea, French Polynesia.
³⁶ Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville, Charlotteville, Trinidad and Tobago.
³⁷ School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
³⁸ ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
³⁹ Sharks Pacific, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
⁴⁰ Wageningen Marine Research, Wageningen University & Research, IJmuiden, The Netherlands.
⁴¹ Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴² Waitt Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.
⁴³ Marine Megafauna Foundation, Truckee, CA, USA.
⁴⁴ The South African Association for Marine Biological Research, Oceanographic Research Institute, Durban, South Africa.
⁴⁵ Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
⁴⁶ Independent consultant, Hull, UK.
⁴⁷ Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, South Bimini, Bahamas.
⁴⁸ Saving the Blue, Kendall, Miami, FL, USA.
⁴⁹ Biology Department, College of Science, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
⁵⁰ The School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands.
⁵¹ Center for Shark Research, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA.
⁵² Operation Wallacea, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, UK.
⁵³ Wildlife Conservation Society, Melanesia Program, Suva, Fiji.
⁵⁴ Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁵⁵ Kenya Fisheries Service, Mombasa, Kenya.
⁵⁶ Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Development, Kiritimati, Kiribati.
⁵⁷ Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
⁵⁸ University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.
⁵⁹ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶⁰ Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁶¹ Coral Reef Research Foundation, Koror, Palau.
⁶² Departamento de Ecología y Territorio, Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.
⁶³ National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hataitai, New Zealand.
⁶⁴ Endangered Marine Species Research Unit, Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
⁶⁵ Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁶⁶ Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA, USA.
⁶⁷ Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, MD, USA.
⁶⁸ Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions, Parks & Wildlife WA, Pilbara Region, Nickol, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶⁹ Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, Jagna, The Philippines.
⁷⁰ Wasage Divers, Wakatobi and Buton, Indonesia.
⁷¹ Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, North Beach, Western Australia, Australia.
⁷² Island Conservation Society Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles.
⁷³ CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya.
⁷⁴ The Centre for Ocean Research and Education, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
⁷⁵ Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK.
⁷⁶ Center for Fisheries Research, Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta Utara, Indonesia.
⁷⁷ Universitas Dayanu Ikhsanuddin Bau-Bau, Bau-Bau, Indonesia.
⁷⁸ Pristine Seas, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA.
⁷⁹ Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁸⁰ HJR Reefscaping, Boquerón, Puerto Rico.
⁸¹ SalvageBlue, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
⁸² School of Natural and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
⁸³ Indo Ocean Project, PT Nomads Diving Bali, Nusa Penida, Indonesia.
⁸⁴ Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.
⁸⁵ Reef Check Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
⁸⁶ Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR ENTROPIE (IRD-UR-UNC-CNRS-IFREMER), Nouméa, New Caledonia.
⁸⁷ Secretariat of the Pacific Regional, Environment Programme, Apia, Samoa.
⁸⁸ Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁸⁹ School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁹⁰ Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo National Natural Park, GIBEAM Research Group, Universidad del Sinú, Cartagena, Colombia.

PMID: 32699418
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2519-y

Erratum in

Author Correction: Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks.
MacNeil MA, Chapman DD, Heupel M, Simpfendorfer CA, Heithaus M, Meekan M, Harvey E, Goetze J, Kiszka J, Bond ME, Currey-Randall LM, Speed CW, Sherman CS, Rees MJ, Udyawer V, Flowers KI, Clementi G, Valentin-Albanese J, Gorham T, Adam MS, Ali K, Pina-Amargós F, Angulo-Valdés JA, Asher J, Barcia LG, Beaufort O, Benjamin C, Bernard ATF, Berumen ML, Bierwagen S, Bonnema E, Bown RMK, Bradley D, Brooks E, Brown JJ, Buddo D, Burke P, Cáceres C, Cardeñosa D, Carrier JC, Caselle JE, Charloo V, Claverie T, Clua E, Cochran JEM, Cook N, Cramp J, D'Alberto B, de Graaf M, Dornhege M, Estep A, Fanovich L, Farabaugh NF, Fernando D, Flam AL, Floros C, Fourqurean V, Garla R, Gastrich K, George L, Graham R, Guttridge T, Hardenstine RS, Heck S, Henderson AC, Hertler H, Hueter R, Johnson M, Jupiter S, Kasana D, Kessel ST, Kiilu B, Kirata T, Kuguru B, Kyne F, Langlois T, Lédée EJI, Lindfield S, Luna-Acosta A, Maggs J, Manjaji-Matsumoto BM, Marshall A, Matich P, McCombs E, McLean D, Meggs L, Moore S, Mukherji S, Murray R, Kaimuddin M, Newman SJ, Nogués J, Obota C, O'Shea O, Osuka K, Papastamatiou YP, Perera N, Peterson B, Ponzo A, Prasetyo A, Quamar LMS, Quinlan J, Ruiz-Abierno A, Sala E, Samoilys M, Sc… See abstract for full author list ➔ MacNeil MA, et al. Nature. 2020 Sep;585(7825):E11. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2692-z. Nature. 2020. PMID: 32848253

Abstract

Decades of overexploitation have devastated shark populations, leaving considerable doubt as to their ecological status^1,2. Yet much of what is known about sharks has been inferred from catch records in industrial fisheries, whereas far less information is available about sharks that live in coastal habitats³. Here we address this knowledge gap using data from more than 15,000 standardized baited remote underwater video stations that were deployed on 371 reefs in 58 nations to estimate the conservation status of reef sharks globally. Our results reveal the profound impact that fishing has had on reef shark populations: we observed no sharks on almost 20% of the surveyed reefs. Reef sharks were almost completely absent from reefs in several nations, and shark depletion was strongly related to socio-economic conditions such as the size and proximity of the nearest market, poor governance and the density of the human population. However, opportunities for the conservation of reef sharks remain: shark sanctuaries, closed areas, catch limits and an absence of gillnets and longlines were associated with a substantially higher relative abundance of reef sharks. These results reveal several policy pathways for the restoration and management of reef shark populations, from direct top-down management of fishing to indirect improvement of governance conditions. Reef shark populations will only have a high chance of recovery by engaging key socio-economic aspects of tropical fisheries.

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Comment in

Conservation: Goldilocks Nations for Restoring Reef Sharks.
Dulvy NK, Yan HF. Dulvy NK, et al. Curr Biol. 2020 Dec 7;30(23):R1415-R1418. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.060. Curr Biol. 2020. PMID: 33290706

References

1. Dulvy, N. K. et al. Extinction risk and conservation of the world’s sharks and rays. eLife 3, e00590 (2014). - DOI
1. Letessier, T. B. et al. Remote reefs and seamounts are the last refuges for marine predators across the Indo-Pacific. PLoS Biol. 17, e3000366 (2019). - DOI
1. Roff, G., Brown, C. J., Priest, M. A. & Mumby, P. J. Decline of coastal apex shark populations over the past half century. Commun. Biol. 1, 223 (2018). - DOI
1. Heithaus, M. R., Frid, A., Wirsing, A. J. & Worm, B. Predicting ecological consequences of marine top predator declines. Trends Ecol. Evol. 23, 202–210 (2008). - DOI
1. Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M., Barnes-Mauthe, M., Al-Abdulrazzak, D., Navarro-Holm, E. & Sumaila, U. R. Global economic value of shark ecotourism: implications for conservation. Oryx 47, 381–388 (2013). - DOI

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Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks

Affiliations

Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks

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Affiliations

Erratum in

Abstract

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