Cayman Island Shark Study: results show less than expected numbers

Making a strong case for shark conservation requires more than an appeal to the emotions. Railing against the practice of shark finning or positioning sharks as cuddly creatures who mean no harm can generate sympathy among portions of the general populace, but it's hard facts that are required to convince politicians and policymakers that steps need to be taken to protect these ocean predators.

For the past three years, the Cayman Islands have been host to a group of marine researchers who have been conducting a population study of sharks and rays in and around the islands. A joint effort between the Save Our Seas Foundation and Marine Conservation International, the project was coordinated by the Cayman Island's department of the environment and funded in part by the UK's Overseas Territory Environment Programme, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, and others. A presentation was recently held to summarize the findings and while anyone familiar with the current state of shark populations might expect the reported numbers to be low, what the researchers found to be most disconcerting was there appears to be far fewer species in local waters than expected.

At the presentation, several of the researchers involved with the project, including Dr. Mauvis Gore and Professor Rupert Ormond, made a strong case for shark conservation with the usual arguments regarding the overfishing of sharks, the positive impact that sharks have in maintaining balance within local marine ecosystems, and the multimillion dollar difference in economic value between shark consumption and shark tourism value - often by a factor of x50 or more in favor of tourism. These are many of the same justifications used to support shark protections or sanctuaries in other countries.

However, what was of particular concern to the scientists was what their research found that was unique to the Cayman Islands. Several species that historically were common in Cayman waters were found to be in much smaller numbers, if found at all. The Cayman News Service reported that, as part of the study, the researchers conducted tagging of several sharks species to track their movements and, as has been documented by others, sharks like tiger sharks, oceanic whitetips, and others were found to cover considerable distances. This presents the need for establishing cooperative policies between other nearby countries as the sharks will not be paying much attention to the boundaries of local shark protected areas or sanctuaries.

"Although the tracking has helped the scientists learn more about the sharks their failure to even find key species in the area to tag such as hammerheads has limited the research but so far the scientists are able to conclude that Cayman has only a modest number of sharks and a lower than expected variety of species. Dr Gore said the scarcity of hammerheads was a concern given that in the 1970s it was possible to sea schools of this type of shark in local waters. 'People think I’m mad when I say this,' she said, given the current scarcity of the species here."

With the environment minister, Mark Scotland, calling the study's results as "eye opening," perhaps we will see action in the near future to establish protections in the Cayman's local waters combined with collaborative efforts between the Cayman Islands and neighboring countries like Mexico, Honduras, the Bahamas and others. For shark conservationists, this would be welcomed news.

Source: Cayman News Service

Sharks in the Arabian Gulf: new research to determine population before it's too late

Declining shark populations have been reported in many parts of the world - some reductions reaching as much as 80 to 90 percent compared to just a few decades ago. But there are still some important bodies of water where the status of the shark populations is unclear. One of those bodies is the Arabian Gulf (or Persian Gulf, depending on who you talk to).

But that is about to change.

Marine biologist Rima Jabado, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, has begun a study to determine the health and extant of shark populations in the Gulf. As part of her doctoral thesis, she has been interviewing Arab fishermen (over 125 to date) and their anecdotal information combined with in-the-field study will hopefully paint an accurate picture of what shark species are living in the Gulf and what their true numbers are.

Jabado was pleased to find that the fishermen were sympathetic to the need for shark conservation to maintain a healthy marine ecosystem, thereby helping to provide sustainable levels of commercial fisheries. But, as noted in the Gulf News, she also heard their frustration in how to deal with sharks when caught.

"The majority of the fishermen would want to protect sharks and believe in the protection of fish for a sustainable fishery," said Rima. "But if sharks are caught in a fisherman's net, should they be thrown back? Perhaps they should be brought in? [This subject] causes them to debate. Some complain that sharks just make holes in their nets."

In many publications, including this blog, the impact of declining shark populations on marine ecosystems has often been presented as a looming threat. But scientists and commercial fisherman are beginning to see real, tangible evidence.

For its predominantly international audience, the Gulf News cited several examples ranging from Australian reports of octopus - no longer being preyed upon by sharks - exploding in number and devouring the lobster population; to increased numbers of cownose rays along the U.S. Atlantic coast decimating vast beds of bay scallops (sharks, particularly hammerheads, feed on cownose rays).

Hopefully, Jabado's research will provide UAE government officials with hard evidence from which responsible shark conservation policies and fishing regulations can be derived. While the Arab fisherman expressed an interest in shark conservation to insure the future of their fisheries, the catch numbers have not been so flattering. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, UAE's catch alone of sharks averaged between 1,300 and 1,950 tons annually from 1985 to 2000. While that number remained fairly stable through that period, rather than increasing, it certainly is sufficient to cause harm to shark populations in a relatively closed body of water like the Arabian Gulf.

"The state of sharks in the Arabian Gulf is a blank," said Jabado. "Attention should be given to sharks — they're the apex predator and their demise could lead to the collapse of the marine ecosystem."

Let us hope that the Arab nations that border the Gulf will prove to be more long-term in their thinking when it comes to establishing policy that will preserve both sharks and their commercial fishing interests.

Read entire article in the Gulf News.