Sharks almost gone from many reefs

Date:
July 22, 2020
Source:
James Cook University
Summary:
A massive global study of the world's reefs has found sharks are
'functionally extinct' on nearly one in five of the reefs surveyed.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A massive global study of the world's reefs has found sharks are
'functionally extinct' on nearly one in five of the reefs surveyed.


========================================================================== Professor Colin Simpfendorfer from James Cook University in Australia
was one of the scientists who took part in the study, published today
in Nature by the Global FinPrint organisation. He said of the 371 reefs surveyed in 58 countries, sharks were rarely seen on close to 20 percent
of those reefs.

"This doesn't mean there are never any sharks on these reefs, but what
it does mean is that they are 'functionally extinct' -- they are not
playing their normal role in the ecosystem," said Professor Simpfendorfer.

He said almost no sharks were detected on any of the 69 reefs of six
nations: the Dominican Republic, the French West Indies, Kenya, Vietnam,
the Windward Dutch Antilles and Qatar.

"In these countries, only three sharks were observed during more than
800 survey hours," said Professor Simpfendorfer.

Dr Demian Chapman, Global FinPrint co-lead and Associate Professor in
the Department of Biological Sciences and Institute of Environment at
Florida International University, said it's clear the central problem
is the intersection between high human population densities, destructive fishing practices, and poor governance.

"We found that robust shark populations can exist alongside people when
those people have the will, the means, and a plan to take conservation
action," said Dr Chapman.

Professor Simpfendorfer said it was encouraging that Australia was among
the best nations at protecting shark populations and ensuring they played
their proper role in the environment.

"We're up there along with such nations as the Federated States of
Micronesia, French Polynesia and the US. These nations reflect key
attributes that were found to be associated with higher populations of
sharks: being generally well- governed, and either banning all shark
fishing or having strong, science-based management limiting how many
sharks can be caught," he said.

Jody Allen, co-founder and chair of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
which backs the Global FinPrint project, said the results exposed a tragic
loss of sharks from many of the world's reefs, but also gave some hope.

"The data collected from the first-ever worldwide survey of sharks
on coral reefs can guide meaningful, long-term conservation plans for protecting the reef sharks that remain," she said.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by James_Cook_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. M. Aaron MacNeil, Demian D. Chapman, Michelle Heupel, Colin A.

Simpfendorfer, Michael Heithaus, Mark Meekan, Euan Harvey, Jordan
Goetze, Jeremy Kiszka, Mark E. Bond, Leanne M. Currey-Randall,
Conrad W. Speed, C. Samantha Sherman, Matthew J. Rees,
Vinay Udyawer, Kathryn I. Flowers, Gina Clementi, Jasmine
Valentin-Albanese, Taylor Gorham, M. Shiham Adam, Khadeeja Ali,
Fabia'n Pina-Amargo's, Jorge A. Angulo-Valde's, Jacob Asher,
Laura Garci'a Barcia, Oce'ane Beaufort, Cecilie Benjamin, Anthony
T. F. Bernard, Michael L. Berumen, Stacy Bierwagen, Erika Bonnema,
Rosalind M. K. Bown, Darcey Bradley, Edd Brooks, J. Jed Brown, Dayne
Buddo, Patrick Burke, Camila Ca'ceres, Diego Carden~osa, Jeffrey C.

Carrier, Jennifer E. Caselle, Venkatesh Charloo, Thomas Claverie,
Eric Clua, Jesse E. M. Cochran, Neil Cook, Jessica Cramp, Brooke
D'Alberto, Martin de Graaf, Mareike Dornhege, Andy Estep, Lanya
Fanovich, Naomi F.

Farabough, Daniel Fernando, Anna L. Flam, Camilla Floros, Virginia
Fourqurean, Ricardo Garla, Kirk Gastrich, Lachlan George, Rory
Graham, Tristan Guttridge, Royale S. Hardenstine, Stephen Heck,
Aaron C.

Henderson, Heidi Hertler, Robert Hueter, Mohini Johnson, Stacy
Jupiter, Devanshi Kasana, Steven T. Kessel, Benedict Kiilu,
Taratu Kirata, Baraka Kuguru, Fabian Kyne, Tim Langlois, Elodie
J. I. Le'de'e, Steve Lindfield, Andrea Luna-Acosta, Jade Maggs,
B. Mabel Manjaji-Matsumoto, Andrea Marshall, Philip Matich,
Erin McCombs, Dianne McLean, Llewelyn Meggs, Stephen Moore,
Sushmita Mukherji, Ryan Murray, Muslimin Kaimuddin, Stephen
J. Newman, Josep Nogue's, Clay Obota, Owen O'Shea, Kennedy
Osuka, Yannis P. Papastamatiou, Nishan Perera, Bradley Peterson,
Alessandro Ponzo, Andhika Prasetyo, L. M. Sjamsul Quamar, Jessica
Quinlan, Alexei Ruiz-Abierno, Enric Sala, Melita Samoilys, Michelle
Scha"rer-Umpierre, Audrey Schlaff, Nikola Simpson, Adam N. H. Smith,
Lauren Sparks, Akshay Tanna, Rube'n Torres, Michael J. Travers,
Maurits van Zinnicq Bergmann, Laurent Vigliola, Juney Ward,
Alexandra M. Watts, Colin Wen, Elizabeth Whitman, Aaron J. Wirsing,
Aljoscha Wothke, Esteban Zarza-Gonza^lez, Joshua E. Cinner. Global
status and conservation potential of reef sharks. Nature, 2020;
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2519-y ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200722112647.htm

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