harrisonsdream
03-30-2007, 11:51 PM
Study claims 11 shark species nearly extinct
By CURTIS MORGAN
McClatchy-Tribune
MIAMI — Humans, mainly in countries with a yen for shark-fin soup, have devoured so many of the oceans' top predators that it has rattled the length of the marine food chain, according to a study to be published today in the journal Science.
While many researchers have documented sharp declines in recent decades, this report concludes that the 11 largest sharks along the Atlantic Coast have all but vanished because of overfishing — down 87 percent to 99 percent for bull, dusky and smooth hammerhead sharks.
Equally important, researchers directly connect their disappearance to a boom-and-bust cycle for other sea life, resulting in the near wipeout of a valuable scallop fishery.
"I am not using the word 'extinction' at this point. The ecological terms we would use is 'functionally eliminated,' " said co-author Julia Baum of Dalhousie University in Canada. "In layman's terms, it means there aren't enough of these top predators around anymore to do their role."
Researchers and conservationists say the study, funded by the Pew Institute for Ocean Science at the University of Miami, bolsters arguments to shut down the shark fishery — a move with major implications in Florida, which leads the nation in commercial landings.
Sonja Fordham, shark conservation coordinator for The Ocean Conservancy, credited federal fishery managers with trying to slow the decline with quotas and limited seasons but "essentially, it's been too little, too late."
"After 13 years of trying, we're in the position of saying, 'Game over, it's not working,' " she said.
Commercial fishing interests are, to put it mildly, skeptical.
"If they're saying the decline is 99 percent in some species, well, they're ... nuts. They need to go out swimming in some of these areas," said Robert Spaeth, executive director of the Southern Offshore Fishing Association, which represents long-line boats that take the bulk of the shark catch in Florida.
They also question the critical argument that the shark decline has thrown the oceans out of balance, saying there is little evidence that big sharks consume all that many small sharks and rays in the first place.
The National Marine Fisheries Service, which is reassessing shark fishing regulations for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, called the study interesting but said managers were already aware of the data.
By CURTIS MORGAN
McClatchy-Tribune
MIAMI — Humans, mainly in countries with a yen for shark-fin soup, have devoured so many of the oceans' top predators that it has rattled the length of the marine food chain, according to a study to be published today in the journal Science.
While many researchers have documented sharp declines in recent decades, this report concludes that the 11 largest sharks along the Atlantic Coast have all but vanished because of overfishing — down 87 percent to 99 percent for bull, dusky and smooth hammerhead sharks.
Equally important, researchers directly connect their disappearance to a boom-and-bust cycle for other sea life, resulting in the near wipeout of a valuable scallop fishery.
"I am not using the word 'extinction' at this point. The ecological terms we would use is 'functionally eliminated,' " said co-author Julia Baum of Dalhousie University in Canada. "In layman's terms, it means there aren't enough of these top predators around anymore to do their role."
Researchers and conservationists say the study, funded by the Pew Institute for Ocean Science at the University of Miami, bolsters arguments to shut down the shark fishery — a move with major implications in Florida, which leads the nation in commercial landings.
Sonja Fordham, shark conservation coordinator for The Ocean Conservancy, credited federal fishery managers with trying to slow the decline with quotas and limited seasons but "essentially, it's been too little, too late."
"After 13 years of trying, we're in the position of saying, 'Game over, it's not working,' " she said.
Commercial fishing interests are, to put it mildly, skeptical.
"If they're saying the decline is 99 percent in some species, well, they're ... nuts. They need to go out swimming in some of these areas," said Robert Spaeth, executive director of the Southern Offshore Fishing Association, which represents long-line boats that take the bulk of the shark catch in Florida.
They also question the critical argument that the shark decline has thrown the oceans out of balance, saying there is little evidence that big sharks consume all that many small sharks and rays in the first place.
The National Marine Fisheries Service, which is reassessing shark fishing regulations for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, called the study interesting but said managers were already aware of the data.