© 2000 by ICES/CIEM International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer
The effects of fishing on sharks, rays, and chimaeras (chondrichthyans), and the implications for marine ecosystems
CSIRO Marine Research GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia. Tel: +61 3 6232 5353; fax: +61 3 6232 5000; e-mail: john.stevens{at}marine.csiro.au.
Instituto Nacional de la Pesca Pitagoras 1320 Mexico, DF 03310 Mexico
Marine Sciences and Coastal Management, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
National Institute for Coastal and Marine Management (RIKZ) Postbus 207, 9750 AE Haren, The Netherlands
The impact of fishing on chondrichthyan stocks around the world is currently the focus of considerable international concern. Most chondrichthyan populations are of low productivity relative to teleost fishes, a consequence of their different life-history strategies. This is reflected in the poor record of sustainability of target shark fisheries. Most sharks and some batoids are predators at, or near, the top of marine food webs. The effects of fishing are examined at the single-species level and through trophic interactions. We summarize the status of chondrichthyan fisheries from around the world. Some 50% of the estimated global catch of chondrichthyans is taken as by-catch, does not appear in official fishery statistics, and is almost totally unmanaged. When taken as by-catch, they are often subjected to high fishing mortality directed at teleost target species. Consequently, some skates, sawfish, and deep-water dogfish have been virtually extirpated from large regions. Some chondrichthyans are more resilient to fishing and we examine predictions on the vulnerability of different species based on their life-history and population parameters. At the species level, fishing may alter size structure and population parameters in response to changes in species abundance. We review the evidence for such density-dependent change. Fishing can affect trophic interactions and we examine cases of apparent species replacement and shifts in community composition. Sharks and rays learn to associate trawlers with food and feeding on discards may increase their populations. Using ECOSIM, we make some predictions about the long-term response of ecosystems to fishing on sharks. Three different environments are analysed: a tropical shelf ecosystem in Venezuela, a Hawaiian coral reef ecosystem, and a North Pacific oceanic ecosystem.
Keywords: community structure, ECOSIM, ecosystem, elasmobranchs, extinction, fishing effects, mass-balance model, population impacts, species replacement, species vulnerability, trophic interactions
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. Williams, K. Helle, and M. Aschan The distribution of chondrichthyans along the northern coast of Norway ICES J. Mar. Sci., October 1, 2008; 65(7): 1161 - 1174. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. B Garcia, L. O Lucifora, and R. A Myers The importance of habitat and life history to extinction risk in sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras Proc R Soc B, January 7, 2008; 275(1630): 83 - 89. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. A. Ebert, L. J. V. Compagno, and P. D. Cowley Aspects of the reproductive biology of skates (Chondrichthyes: Rajiformes: Rajoidei) from southern Africa ICES J. Mar. Sci., January 1, 2008; 65(1): 81 - 102. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. B. McAuley, C. A. Simpfendorfer, and N. G. Hall A method for evaluating the impacts of fishing mortality and stochastic influences on the demography of two long-lived shark stocks ICES J. Mar. Sci., December 1, 2007; 64(9): 1710 - 1722. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Jennings and A. S. Revill The role of gear technologists in supporting an ecosystem approach to fisheries ICES J. Mar. Sci., November 1, 2007; 64(8): 1525 - 1534. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Huveneers, N. M. Otway, S. E. Gibbs, and R. G. Harcourt Quantitative diet assessment of wobbegong sharks (genus Orectolobus) in New South Wales, Australia ICES J. Mar. Sci., September 1, 2007; 64(6): 1272 - 1281. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Mabragana and D. A. Giberto Feeding ecology and abundance of two sympatric skates, the shortfin sand skate Psammobatis normani McEachran, and the smallthorn sand skate P. rudis Gunther (Chondrichthyes, Rajidae), in the southwest Atlantic ICES J. Mar. Sci., July 1, 2007; 64(5): 1017 - 1027. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. A. Myers, J. K. Baum, T. D. Shepherd, S. P. Powers, and C. H. Peterson Cascading Effects of the Loss of Apex Predatory Sharks from a Coastal Ocean Science, March 30, 2007; 315(5820): 1846 - 1850. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. G Priede, R. Froese, D. M Bailey, O. A. Bergstad, M. A Collins, J. E. Dyb, C. Henriques, E. G Jones, and N. King The absence of sharks from abyssal regions of the world's oceans Proc R Soc B, June 7, 2006; 273(1592): 1435 - 1441. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Guijarro and E. Massuti Selectivity of diamond- and square-mesh codends in the deepwater crustacean trawl fishery off the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean) ICES J. Mar. Sci., January 1, 2006; 63(1): 52 - 67. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. D Reynolds, N. K Dulvy, N. B Goodwin, and J. A Hutchings Biology of extinction risk in marine fishes Proc R Soc B, November 22, 2005; 272(1579): 2337 - 2344. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Massuti and J. Moranta Demersal assemblages and depth distribution of elasmobranchs from the continental shelf and slope off the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean) ICES J. Mar. Sci., January 1, 2003; 60(4): 753 - 766. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|