Shark Overfishing Reflected in Updated IUCN Red List

Experts call for conservation action as more species qualify as Endangered
 
PRESS RELEASE | London, 21 March, 2019

Shortfin Mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) © Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

The Shark Specialist Group (SSG) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) today released updated Red List Assessments for 58 species of sharks and rays, 17 of which were classified as threatened with extinction. The results are part of a global project to assess population trends based on a series of expert workshops, the first of which focused on Australian species as well as oceanic species found worldwide.

“Our results are alarming and yet not surprising, as we find the sharks that are especially slow-growing, sought-after, and unprotected from overfishing tend to be the most threatened,” said Professor Nicholas Dulvy, SSG Co-chair based at Simon Fraser University. “Of particular concern is the fast and iconic Shortfin Mako Shark, which we’ve assessed as Endangered based on serious depletion around the globe, including a 60% decline in the Atlantic over about 75 years.”

The closely related Longfin Mako Shark was also listed as Endangered. Makos migrate great distances, don’t reproduce until their late teens, and are valued in many countries for both meat and fins; however, they are not subject to any international fishing quotas. The importance of fisheries management was reflected in the 41 updated Red List Assessments for the sharks and rays of Australia, a world leader in shark conservation.

“More than half of the Australian species assessed were classified as Least Concern, thanks in large part to the implementation of fishing limits,” said Dr. Peter Kyne of Charles Darwin University, who serves as the SSG Red List Authority Coordinator. “The nine Australian sharks that remain at serious risk are mostly deep-water species that are exceptionally slow-growing and thereby ill-equipped to withstand even modest fishing pressure. In particular, the Greeneye Spurdog, whose nearly three-year pregnancies are the longest in the animal kingdom, was assessed as Endangered.”

The oceanic sharks and rays found to have relatively healthy populations (classified as Least Concern) were mainly species that are not valued for food, such as the Pelagic Stingray, and/or found at extremely deep depths beyond the reach of fishing gear, such as the Megamouth Shark.   

“The threats to sharks and rays continue to mount and yet countries around the world are still falling far short of their conservation commitments, particularly with respect to basic limits on catch,” says Sonja Fordham, SSG Deputy Chair based at Shark Advocates International, a project of The Ocean Foundation. “To turn the tide and allow shark and ray recovery, the SSG is calling for immediate national and international fishing limits, including complete bans on landing those species assessed as Endangered or Critically Endangered. The need for action is urgent.”

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The Press Release is also available in French, Spanish, and Arabic

​Media contact: Patricia Roy, [email protected], tel. +34 696 905 907.
 
Notes to Editors:
The new Red List Assessments for Australian and oceanic sharks can be found at www.iucnredlist.org .
 
Species classified as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List are considered threatened with extinction. The Shortfin Mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) and the Longfin Mako (Isurus paucus) have moved from Vulnerable to Endangered classifications, signalling a higher risk of extinction. This change, however, is considered “non-genuine” in IUCN terminology, meaning that it is based on new information not available during the previous assessment.
 
Made up of 174 experts from 55 countries, the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Shark Specialist Group (SSG) aims for the conservation, management and, where necessary, the recovery of the world's sharks, rays, and chimaeras by providing the technical and scientific expertise that enables action: www.iucnssg.org .
 
The SSG’s Global Shark Trends Project is assessing the extinction risk of all sharks, rays, and chimaeras by 2020: www.iucnssg.org/global-shark-trends-project.html The project is led by Simon Fraser University in Canada, with Charles Darwin and James Cook Universities in Australia, partnered by Georgia Aquarium, funded by the Shark Conservation Fund
 
Link to RL table: 2019 IUCN Red List Update