Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks

MacNeil MA 1 , Chapman DD 2 , Heupel M 3 , Simpfendorfer CA 4 , Heithaus M 2 , Meekan M 5 Show all authors , Harvey E 6 , Goetze J 6 , Kiszka J 2 , Bond ME 2 , Currey-Randall LM 3 , Speed CW 5 , Sherman CS 4 , Rees MJ 5 , Udyawer V 7 , Flowers KI 2 , Clementi G 2 , Valentin-Albanese J 8 , Gorham T 9 , Adam MS 10 , Ali K 2 , Pina-Amargós F 11 , Angulo-Valdés JA 12 , Asher J 13 , Barcia LG 2 , Beaufort O 14 , Benjamin C 15 , Bernard ATF 16 , Berumen ML 17 , Bierwagen S 4 , Bonnema E 2 , Bown RMK 18 , Bradley D 19 , Brooks E 20 , Brown JJ 21 , Buddo D 22 , Burke P 23 , Cáceres C 2 , Cardeñosa D 8 , Carrier JC 24 , Caselle JE 25 , Charloo V 26 , Claverie T 27 , Clua E 28 , Cochran JEM 17 , Cook N 29 , Cramp J 30 , D'Alberto B 4 , de Graaf M 31 , Dornhege M 32 , Estep A 33 , Fanovich L 29 , Farabaugh NF 2 , Fernando D 18 , Flam AL 34 , Floros C 35 , Fourqurean V 2 , Garla R 36 , Gastrich K 2 , George L 4 , Graham R 37 , Guttridge T 38 , Hardenstine RS 17 , Heck S 8 , Henderson AC 39 , Hertler H 40 , Hueter R 41 , Johnson M 42 , Jupiter S 43 , Kasana D 2 , Kessel ST 44 , Kiilu B 45 , Kirata T 46 , Kuguru B 47 , Kyne F 48 , Langlois T 49 , Lédée EJI 50 , Lindfield S 51 , Luna-Acosta A 52 , Maggs J 53 , Manjaji-Matsumoto BM 54 , Marshall A 34 , Matich P 55 , McCombs E 56 , McLean D 5 , Meggs L 57 , Moore S 58 , Mukherji S 4 , Murray R 59 , Kaimuddin M 60 , Newman SJ 61 , Nogués J 62 , Obota C 63 , O'Shea O 64 , Osuka K 65 , Papastamatiou YP 2 , Perera N 18 , Peterson B 8 , Ponzo A 59 , Prasetyo A 66 , Quamar LMS 67 , Quinlan J 2 , Ruiz-Abierno A 12 , Sala E 68 , Samoilys M 63 , Schärer-Umpierre M 69 , Schlaff A 4 , Simpson N 70 , Smith ANH 71 , Sparks L 72 , Tanna A 18 , Torres R 73 , Travers MJ 61 , van Zinnicq Bergmann M 2 , Vigliola L 74 , Ward J 75 , Watts AM 34 , Wen C 76 , Whitman E 2 , Wirsing AJ 77 , Wothke A 29 , Zarza-Gonzâlez E 78 , Cinner JE 30

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 School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
  • 7 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Arafura Timor Research Facility, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
  • 8 School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
  • 9 Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  • 10 International Pole and Line Foundation, Malé, Maldives
  • 11 Centro de Investigaciones de Ecosistemas Costeros (CIEC), Cayo Coco, Morón, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba
  • 12 Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de la Habana, Havana, Cuba
  • 13 Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
  • 14 Réseau requins des Antilles Francaises, Kap Natirel, Vieux-Fort, Guadeloupe
  • 15 Mahonia Na Dari Research and Conservation Centre, Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
  • 16 South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown, South Africa
  • 17 Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
  • 18 Blue Resources Trust, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 19 Bren School of Environmental Sciences and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
  • 20 Shark Research and Conservation Program, Cape Eleuthera Institute, Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, Bahamas
  • 21 Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
  • 22 University of the West Indies, Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, Discovery Bay, Jamaica
  • 23 Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 24 Albion College, Albion, MI, USA
  • 25 Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
  • 26 Coastal Impact, Quitula, Aldona Bardez, India
  • 27 CUFR Mayotte & Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, IFREMER, Montpellier, France
  • 28 PSL Research University, LABEX CORAIL, CRIOBE USR3278 EPHE-CNRS-UPVD, Mòorea, French Polynesia
  • 29 Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville, Charlotteville, Trinidad and Tobago
  • 30 ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
  • 31 Wageningen Marine Research, Wageningen University & Research, IJmuiden, The Netherlands
  • 32 Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
  • 33 Waitt Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
  • 34 Marine Megafauna Foundation, Truckee, CA, USA
  • 35 The South African Association for Marine Biological Research, Oceanographic Research Institute, Durban, South Africa
  • 36 Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
  • 37 Independent consultant, Hull, UK
  • 38 Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, South Bimini, Bahamas
  • 39 Biology Department, College of Science, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
  • 40 The School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands
  • 41 Center for Shark Research, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA
  • 42 Operation Wallacea, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, UK
  • 43 Wildlife Conservation Society, Melanesia Program, Suva, Fiji
  • 44 Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL, USA
  • 45 Kenya Fisheries Service, Mombasa, Kenya
  • 46 Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Development, Kiritimati, Kiribati
  • 47 Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
  • 48 University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
  • 49 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  • 50 Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 51 Coral Reef Research Foundation, Koror, Palau
  • 52 Departamento de Ecología y Territorio, Facultad de Estudios Ambientales y Rurales, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
  • 53 National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hataitai, New Zealand
  • 54 Endangered Marine Species Research Unit, Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
  • 55 Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA
  • 56 Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA, USA
  • 57 Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, MD, USA
  • 58 Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions, Parks & Wildlife WA, Pilbara Region, Nickol, Western Australia, Australia
  • 59 Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, Jagna, The Philippines
  • 60 Wasage Divers, Wakatobi and Buton, Indonesia
  • 61 Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, North Beach, Western Australia, Australia
  • 62 Island Conservation Society Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
  • 63 CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya
  • 64 The Centre for Ocean Research and Education, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, Bahamas
  • 65 Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK
  • 66 Center for Fisheries Research, Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta Utara, Indonesia
  • 67 Universitas Dayanu Ikhsanuddin Bau-Bau, Bau-Bau, Indonesia
  • 68 Pristine Seas, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA
  • 69 HJR Reefscaping, Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  • 70 SalvageBlue, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • 71 School of Natural and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
  • 72 Indo Ocean Project, PT Nomads Diving Bali, Nusa Penida, Indonesia
  • 73 Reef Check Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • 74 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR ENTROPIE (IRD-UR-UNC-CNRS-IFREMER), Nouméa, New Caledonia
  • 75 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional, Environment Programme, Apia, Samoa
  • 76 Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
  • 77 School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
  • 78 Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo National Natural Park, GIBEAM Research Group, Universidad del Sinú, Cartagena, Colombia
Nature, 2020 07;583(7818):801-806.
PMID: 32699418 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2519-y

Abstract

Decades of overexploitation have devastated shark populations, leaving considerable doubt as to their ecological status1,2. 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.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

MeSH terms
Similar publications